It’s one other showdown between two No. 1 seeds to shut out the Final Four in the NCAA girls’s basketball event — this time, that includes the Texas Longhorns and UCLA Bruins. These two groups final met in November, the place the Longhorns defeated the Bruins 76-65 on the again of a 26-point outing from Rori Harmon.
The Longhorns, coached by Vic Schaefer, are searching for retribution this yr after falling in final yr’s Final Four to the South Carolina Gamecocks, who went on to lose to UConn in the championship recreation, 82-59. Texas went 35-3 this season with a 13-3 report in the SEC, culminating in the staff’s first-ever SEC championship with a 78-61 win over South Carolina.
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UCLA completed the yr 35-1 with an undefeated report in the Big Ten below long-time head coach Cori Close. Senior middle Lauren Betts has been amongst the stars of the present, main the staff with 17.2 factors, 8.6 rebounds and a couple of.0 blocks per recreation, with Kiki Rice, a projected first-round choose on this yr’s WNBA draft, proper alongside her. A win Friday evening would mark UCLA’s first-ever trip to the event championship recreation.
Texas-UCLA begin time: 9:30 p.m. ET
Location: Mortgage Matchup Center | Phoenix
TV channel/live stream: ESPN
Follow alongside with Yahoo Sports for the newest updates as No. 1 seeds Texas and UCLA face off in the girls’s Final Four.
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UCLA has been in management for many of this one, however Texas had a a lot stronger second quarter to put them inside three. After the Longhorns solely scored six in the first quarter, they held the Bruins to the identical complete in the second. Rori Harmon has a game-high eight factors, whereas Gianna Kneepkens leads the Bruins with seven.
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Rori Harmon drains a jumper to put Texas inside 4, however Lauren Betts solutions instantly with one among her personal.
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In case you’re questioning how that is going for the Longhorns…
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Kyla Oldacre lastly ended Texas’ practically four-minute scoring drought, however the Longhorns nonetheless face an eight-point deficit. UCLA’s Gianna Kneepkens leads all scorers with 5 factors, whereas Texas’ Madison Booker is 1-of-6 taking pictures.
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Texas is down 10 factors, by far the largest deficit it’s confronted this event. The Longhorns have missed their final 5 pictures and haven’t scored in about 4 minutes.
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She’s acquired 4 factors about midway via the first quarter.
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Madison Booker hit the first shot for Texas, however the Bruins went on a 7-0 run earlier than the Longhorns acquired one other bucket.
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Who will it’s on Sunday towards South Carolina?
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On this aspect of the bracket, some new — or at the very least new-ish — blood will emerge. UCLA has by no means performed in a nationwide title recreation, and Texas hasn’t been there since it won it all in 1986. That yr, the Longhorns authored the first excellent season in NCAA Division I girls’s basketball historical past.
These groups have already squared off as soon as this season. That was on Nov. 26 at the Players Era Championship. Texas established a 20-point lead by intermission and held on for a 76-65 win. Bruins middle Lauren Betts suffered a left arm harm after Madison Booker stripped the ball from her in the third quarter. Betts later returned to the flooring however completed with simply eight factors and wound up lacking the following recreation towards Duke. Booker completed with 16 factors on a mere 6-of-17 taking pictures.
The Longhorns have been paced by senior guard Rori Harmon. She piled up a season-high 26 factors to go alongside with 5 assists.
Both Texas and UCLA are in the Final Four for the second yr in a row. In 2025, Cori Close took the Bruins to their first-ever nationwide semifinal, and Vic Schaefer reintroduced the Longhorns to that stage for the first time since 2003. Now they’re going head-to-head with a trip to the nationwide title recreation on the line.