SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In a display of resilience that has defined their record-breaking season, the No. 1 seed UCLA Bruins rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat the Duke Blue Devils 70-58 on Sunday. The victory propels UCLA into the women’s Final Four, marking a significant milestone in their pursuit of the program’s first national title.
The win was far from guaranteed at the intermission. Trailing 39-31, the Bruins faced their second halftime deficit of the entire season. However, a pivotal moment in the locker room sparked a transformation. The team’s six graduating members took the initiative to address the squad before head coach Cori Close entered, setting the tone for a dominant second-half performance that saw UCLA outscore Duke 39-19 after the break.
Senior Leadership Drives the Turnaround
The catalyst for the comeback was internal accountability. According to UCLA forward Angela Dugalic, the seniors utilized the break to candidly discuss necessary adjustments without assigning blame.
“Before [coach Cori Close] came in, I think we were just … Able to call each other up and out on, like, what we have to fix,” Dugalic said. “I think that’s a great quality of our team … No one takes it personally. If I need Lauren [Betts] to do something better, she’s willing to capture accountability for that and vice versa. That goes for everyone on my team.”
When Close eventually entered the locker room, she found a group ready to execute. Dugalic noted that the coach remained “super steady,” reinforcing the team’s core values rather than panicking over the scoreline.
“We understood that the first half wasn’t a good representation of how we want to play basketball,” Dugalic explained. “But Cori came in and what she said right now is, like, ‘How do we stick back to our values and stay neutral, focus on next-play speed?'”
Close attributed the first-half struggles to a lack of execution, citing issues with rebounding, and aggression. “We didn’t control rebounds. We weren’t the aggressors in creating catches. We didn’t go strong to the rim and execute our stuff,” Close said. “Lots of things come into play. That’s why we focus on the response.”
Lauren Betts Delivers Historic Performance
Central to UCLA’s response was senior center Lauren Betts. Entering the game as the Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Betts admitted she was dissatisfied with her first-half output, which included eight points and three blocks.
“I just didn’t like how that first half happened. And I know that I could have been a lot more aggressive,” Betts said. “I think going into a game like this, sometimes you just take yourself out of your head and you realize, ‘Oh, this is the Elite Eight and my season is on the line.’ I’ve got to wake up a little bit.”
Betts answered her own call to action in the second half. The 6-foot-7 center finished the game with 23 points and 10 rebounds, marking her sixth career double-double in the NCAA tournament. Her defensive presence was equally imposing; she recorded five blocks, becoming the only player to tally at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks in a regional final or later since Brittney Griner achieved the feat for Baylor in the 2012 national championship game.
The impact of the senior class was overwhelming. By the final whistle, the six graduating members of the Bruins’ roster had combined for 66 of the team’s 70 points. Betts’ younger sister, Sienna, a freshman, accounted for the remaining four points.
Defensive Adjustments Stifle Duke
Duke, the third-seeded Blue Devils, had initially found success by pressuring UCLA’s backcourt. The Blue Devils’ guard trio of Ashlon Jackson, Taina Mair, and Riley Nelson capitalized on 12 UCLA turnovers in the first half, converting them into 16 points.
However, UCLA’s defensive intensity shifted dramatically after halftime. The Bruins held Duke scoreless for the final six minutes of the third quarter. Although Mair hit a 3-pointer 90 seconds into the fourth quarter to pull Duke within six points, the Blue Devils could not sustain the momentum.
“When they came out [after halftime], we just didn’t have a response to it,” Mair said. “Credit to them for going into the locker room and making the correct changes to win the game. They played a great second half.”
The turning point on the scoreboard came in the third quarter when Bruins guard Gianna Kneepkens hit a 3-point jumper with less than three minutes remaining in the period. It marked the first time UCLA held the lead since the opening basket of the game, putting them ahead 47-45. UCLA never relinquished the lead in the fourth quarter.
Chasing History in the Final Four
With this victory, UCLA secured their 35th win of the campaign, setting a recent program record for most wins in a single season. The team is now one step closer to capturing the school’s first women’s national title. Last season, the Bruins fell to UConn in their first-ever Final Four appearance, but Betts believes the team has evolved significantly since then.
“We’ve had moments where we’ve had close games,” Betts said. “I’m just so proud of the way that we’re able to just stay calm and still hold each other accountable while likewise just competing at the highest level. That’s just what makes this team so special.”
The ability to navigate adversity, such as the halftime deficit against Duke, serves as a blueprint for the challenges ahead in the Final Four. Betts emphasized that the team’s mental fortitude will be key moving forward.
“We could have gone into that locker room and just kept our head down and gotten mad at each other and been pissed off,” Betts said. “The ability to get on each other and still show up and play for each other and come out with that aggressive mentality … That’s the mentality that we have to continue to start with moving forward.”
As the tournament progresses, all eyes will be on whether UCLA can maintain this level of poise and execution against the remaining elite teams in the field. The Bruins’ combination of veteran leadership and historic individual talent positions them as a formidable contender for the championship.
For more updates on the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, stay tuned to Archyde.com for continuing coverage and analysis.
