Cori Close Gets Her Banner

Cori Close got her banner. UCLA is the women's national champion, the first title on the women's side in program history, if you do not count the pre-NCAA 1970s era. The empty space in the trophy case she photographed when she got the job 15 years ago is empty no more.

Rich pulls the old clip from her first appearance on the show after last year's Final Four loss to UConn. What would a title mean? She talked about John Wooden's gift to her, the validation that excellence does not require being demeaning or transactional. You can hold the highest standards, compete fiercely, treat people well, and still win. She wanted to pay that forward.

The 2025-2026 Bruins made her right. They avenged the only regular season loss, beating Texas on Friday night. Texas had dismantled Michigan in the Elite Eight. UCLA then dismantled South Carolina, the team that had taken out UConn in the other Final Four semifinal. The third quarter was a 25-7 masterclass. Final margin, 28 points, third largest in a title game ever. South Carolina shot 29 percent from the floor.

The storylines layered on top of each other. Gabriela Jaquez went for 21, 10, and 5. Her brother Jaime dropped 32 on the Heat and flew to Phoenix to watch her win. The Betts sisters, Lauren and Sienna, won together, with Lauren taking Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Kiki Rice played 31 minutes. Close emptied her bench and her seniors scored all but four of UCLA's 79.

Rich reads from Lauren Betts' Players' Tribune piece from March 19, titled I Want to Be Here. She wrote about battling depression as a Stanford freshman before transferring, checking herself into UCLA's hospital, and the layered meaning of the title phrase. She also gave Madison Booker grace after Booker went 3 for 23 in the semifinal, saying Booker is a human. Betts' own quote after the final landed plainly. Sacrifice the ego. Nobody asks what you averaged when you have a ring.

Dawn Staley was gracious in defeat. She said UCLA was the better team, she hugged Close before the game, and she acknowledged being part of women's basketball history even on the wrong side of it. Rich closes on Cori Close, the longest tenured coach at a single school to win her first title, carrying on the tradition of the man she visited every other week as a 22-year-old assistant in his Valley apartment.