| Women’s Basketball |
|---|
| Wisconsin — 60 |
| UCLA — 80 |
Pure dominance.
That’s how the 2026 senior class will be remembered after leaving their mark on senior day at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday afternoon for their last home game this regular season.
The newly announced outright Big Ten regular season champions, No.2 UCLA women’s basketball team (27-1, 17-0 Big Ten), dictated the pace from the opening tip and cruised past the Wisconsin Badgers (13-15, 5-12 Big Ten).
Senior center Lauren Betts started off the game with a layup, immediately establishing UCLA’s presence inside. Moments later, the Bruins went on fire offensively, with two steals and going on an 8-0 run. Senior guard Kiki Rice knocked down the first 3-pointer of the game, and the Bruins attacked the paint aggressively, drawing five early fouls from the Badgers.
A final 3-pointer from graduate guard Charlisse Leger-Walker concluded a dominant first-quarter from the Bruins, giving them a 26-15 lead.
The Bruins forced an early Badger turnover in the second, foreshadowing their outstanding defensive performance this quarter. While missed shots cost the Bruins a chance to widen the point gap, offensive rebounds and steals gave them a steady momentum. By halftime, the lead remained comfortably in double digits at 41–29.
After halftime, the Bruins started off a turnover and scoring drought that allowed the Badgers to cut the lead down to just seven points, 41-34. The response came quickly. Lauren Betts’ first and-one layup of the game and a beautiful left-handed layup from senior guard Gabriela Jaquez gets the offensive energy going again.
Towards the end of the quarter, the Bruins seemed to have regained their rhythm with a notable shot from freshman forward Sienna Betts and graduate forward Angela Dugalić buried two threes. The highlight of the quarter was graduate guard Gianna Kneepkens knocking down a shocking four point play. Bruins enter the final stretch 65-49.
The Bruins put the game away in the fourth quarter. They were able to overcome a field-goal scoring drought created by the Badger’s tough defense with a layup and block from Lauren Betts.
Finally, the Bruins seemed to come alive. Rice made a layup, followed by a steal and then a jumper all within the last minute to close out the game with a win, 80-60.
All seniors and graduate students had an impressive performance for their last home game. Lauren Betts, Dugalić, Kneepkens, Jaquez and Rice all scored in the double figures, and Leger-Walker had seven assists. Betts also had 14 rebounds, with six of them being offensive boards.
Following the game, UCLA head coach Cori Close got emotional and held back tears when asked about her team.
“I could not be more proud of them as their coach,” said Close.
Lauren Betts also weighed in on her experience at UCLA and being apart of such an incredible family:
“I’m so grateful for all of my other seniors who I’ve been able to play with this year and the past years. I just love these girls so much, so it’s been a really emotional day. I’m super grateful.”
UCLA women’s basketball will play their final game of the regular season against rival USC Sunday March 1, at 3 p.m. PST, looking to wrap up the conference play undefeated.
