Lauren Betts had 16 points and made a huge block late, and UCLA withstood a late charge by Texas on Friday night for a 51-44 win to reach the women’s NCAA Tournament national championship game for the first time.
Manhandled by eventual national champion UConn in their first Final Four a year ago, the Bruins (36-1) dominated their way to another national semifinal with the best season in program history.
A chance at a first national championship game appearance had to go through the only team to beat them this season.
Overpowered in the first meeting, the Bruins turned the bully tables on Texas (35-4), shutting down All-American Madison Booker while building a 13-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
The Longhorns are one of the nation’s best defensive teams and flexed their D during a 12-2 run that cut UCLA’s lead to 47-44.
Betts swatted the Texas run to halt.
She blocked Booker’s shot with 20 seconds left and Kiki Rice hit two free throws, sending coach Cori Close’s crew into the title game.
The grinding win earns the Bruins a spot Sunday’s title game against South Carolina, the three-time national champions who ended reigning champion UConn’s undefeated season and left Huskies’ coach Geno Auriemma fuming.
So was Booker after a brutal finish to what was otherwise a stellar season. She hit her first shot, missed her next 17 and finished with six points on 3-of-23 shooting.
Another agonizing Final Four loss left Texas coach Vic Schaefer among the dejected as well.
He twice lost in the national title game at Mississippi State — once on a buzzer beater — and watched the Longhorns clank their way out of their second straight Final Four appearance.
The Longhorns got off to a brutal start with six points in the first quarter, shot 38% from the floor overall and 2 for 9 from 3-point distance.
The chance at a second national title stretches to another year — 40 years and counting.
In the teams’ first meeting, Texas dominated early and held on late for a 76-65 win on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas.
The rematch was more like a wrestling match, players hitting the floor and coaches screaming for fouls that weren’t called — just like in the first Final Four game.
UCLA dominated the first quarter to lead by eight and Texas tightened the screws in the second, holding the Bruins to pull within 20-17.
Betts was held to a season-low eight points the first go-round against Texas, but had some success early in the national semifinals by attacking before the double teams arrived. She had continued success while her fellow All-American labored, finishing 7 of 10 from the floor with 11 rebounds and three blocked shots — none bigger than the late one against Booker.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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