UCLA Bruins Conclude Season with Loss to South Carolina in NCAA Women's Final Four

LOS ANGELES — The UCLA Bruins women's basketball team fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks 79-75 in the NCAA Final Four semifinals on Sunday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The game ended UCLA's season with a record of 29-5. South Carolina advanced to the national championship game, maintaining its undefeated 37-0 record.

Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice, both seniors, played their last game for UCLA in the loss. Betts, a 6-foot-7 center from Grand Rapids, Michigan, finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Rice, a 5-foot-11 guard from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, recorded 12 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds.

The matchup featured two top-ranked teams, with South Carolina holding the No. 1 overall seed and UCLA seeded No. 1 in the Spokane Region. The Gamecocks led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but UCLA mounted a comeback to tie the score at 75 late in the fourth quarter.

South Carolina secured the win with free throws in the final seconds.

transferred to UCLA from Stanford after her freshman year, where she averaged 13.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season. Rice, a UCLA recruit out of Sidwell Friends School, started all 34 games she played, averaging 12.2 points and 5.8 assists.

Their departures leave gaps in UCLA's frontcourt and backcourt for the 2024-25 season. UCLA head coach Cori Close praised the seniors post-game, noting their contributions to the program's 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bruins reached the Final Four for the first time since 2019, defeating Texas and LSU in earlier rounds.

South Carolina, coached by Dawn Staley, will face Iowa in the championship on Tuesday. The Gamecocks seek their third national title since 2017. For UCLA, the offseason involves recruiting and roster adjustments, with the team ranked No. 5 in the preseason AP poll.

The NCAA women's tournament drew record viewership, with the Final Four games averaging over 4 million viewers on ESPN platforms. Stakeholders include players, coaches, university athletics departments, and fans affected by the season's conclusion and upcoming changes.