PHOENIX — South Carolina women's basketball lost its second-consecutive national championship Sunday in a 79-51 loss to the UCLA Bruins. The Gamecocks never led at any point in the team's season finale at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Bruins won the tip and immediately got the ball to senior center Lauren Betts for a layup to kickstart the game. Senior guard Ta’Niya Latson found senior center Madina Okot under the hoop to tie the game at 2 on the next possession.
Graduate guard Charlisse Leger-Walker put UCLA back in front with a midrange jumper, and then Betts scored once more on the next possession to bring the score to 6-2 just over two minutes into the game.
Latson was back at the line early following her 10-10 mark on free throws in the team’s win over UConn. She knocked down both to put the Gamecocks within a score.
Senior guard Gabriela Jaquez then converted a 3-point play for the Bruins after being fouled on a layup, which put South Carolina back down by 5. The Gamecocks started 1-9 from the field, allowing the score to grow to 13-4 by the game’s five-minute mark.
Junior guard Tessa Johnson helped the team get rolling with an and-one prior to the game’s first media timeout midway through the opening quarter. She nailed the free throw after the break to bring South Carolina within 6.
On freshman guard Agot Makeer’s first touch of the game, she drilled a triple off a feed from sophomore forward Joyce Edwards. Leger-Walker answered right back with a 3-pointer of her own on the next possession.
Neither team scored from the 3:45 mark in the quarter until the 27-second mark. The Bruins closed out the quarter on an 8-0 run overall while South Carolina shot 16.7% (3-18), earning an 11-point deficit by the end of the quarter. UCLA led 21-10.
The Gamecocks opened the second quarter with a missed layup, their third of the game. The Bruins went right down the court and scored to push the lead to 13, the largest deficit South Carolina had faced in the tournament at any point.
Tessa Johnson scored 5 straight points to keep the Gamecocks within reach. The scoring stretch wasn’t without graduate guard Gianna Kneepkens banking in a 3-pointer to retain the Bruins’ comfortable lead.
When Kneepkens scored again on a baseline jumper, UCLA had doubled South Carolina’s total at a score of 30-15. Senior guard Raven Johnson helped close the gap by earning her first points in the game with a mid-range jumper at the top of the key.
At the under-five timeout in the second quarter, both teams had missed six of their last seven attempts, but the Bruins led 32-17 and had outshot South Carolina 44.8% (13-29) to 21.4% (6-28).
After the timeout, Edwards finally got on the board with a bucket in the paint. She started the game 0-3 from the field. With a chance to shrink the lead to 11, Latson made two defenders miss but missed the layup. The team was 3-9 on layups at the point.
Latson made up for the miss when she grabbed a steal and then put in a bucket while being fouled in transition. When UCLA called a timeout with 2:48 before half-time, the team had turned the ball over thrice over the last 2:04.
The Bruins exited the timeout with another field goal miss, but senior guard Kiki Rice got them back on track with a layup. Another score from Kneepkens was negated by a score from Tessa Johnson for the final points before half-time.
UCLA had captured a 36-23 lead through two quarters. The team had outrebounded South Carolina 29-17, outshot it 42.9% (15-35) to 25.7% (9-35) and outscored it in the paint, 20-12. The Gamecocks were also 13% (1-8) from beyond the arc.
Jaquez and Kneepkens led the way for the Bruins scoring efforts with 7 at the break, while Tessa Johnson led all scorers with 10 first-half points. She was the only Gamecock with over 4 points, while UCLA had six scorers with more than 5.
Okot scored the first points of the second half on a contested layup against Betts, but Betts returned the favor with a bucket of her own at the other end. Okot then picked up an offensive foul and then a defensive foul, reaching a total of three personal fouls less than two minutes into the third quarter.
South Carolina was forced to call a timeout with 5:41 to play in the third quarter. UCLA led 48-26 and had gone on a 12-1 run over the last 3:42. The Gamecocks were 1-5 from the field after the half and had turned the ball over three times.
Makeer cut the lead to 20 off a feed from Tessa Johnson after the timeout. After the third quarter’s media timeout, the Gamecocks were called for a five-second violation after failing to inbound the ball.
Tessa Johnson wouldn’t go down without a fight, hitting a turnaround jumper in the paint to bring the game within 18. Jaquez then knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Bruins up 21, and after back-and-forth possessions between each team, Kneepkens nailed a 3-pointer to give UCLA a 25-point lead, the largest of the day.
The Gamecocks entered the fourth quarter trailing 61-32. South Carolina shot 21.4% (3-14) from the field in the third quarter and didn’t hit a field goal for the period's final 4:29. Jaquez added 7 points in the period, while Betts added 6. No Gamecock had more than 2.
UCLA closed out the national championship victory with an 18-point fourth quarter. Jaquez's 21 points led all scorers in the game, trailed by Kneepkens’ 15. Tessa Johnson's 14 led South Carolina.
The Gamecocks finish the 2025-26 season with an overall record of 36-4.