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It was dominating. It was overwhelming. It was powder-blue pummeling, eight-clap crushing, Westwood wonderful.

It was the UCLA women’s basketball team needing barely two hours to complete the struggles of 45 years, a stunningly swarming triumph unmatched in even the finest of Bruin athletic traditions.

Break out a new banner. Make room in the Pauley rafters. A new collection of heroes is coming home, and they started the party early.

For the first time since 1978, and the first time in the NCAA era, the UCLA women are national basketball champions after a 79-51 finals blowout victory Sunday over favored powerhouse South Carolina.

“Oh my gosh,” said weeping star Lauren Betts after the final buzzer.

Oh my, Lauren. This was a heartfelt triumph for the towering tournament Most Outstanding Player who overcame mental health issues to become the toughest figure on the floor.

“I do it for my teammates,” she said during the celebration. “I don’t do it for me.”

Oh my, Gabby. This was a legendary triumph for Gabriela Jaquez, who scored 21 points with 10 rebounds in the finals while her brother, former Bruin star Jaime Jaquez Jr., watched from the stands one day after he scored 32 points for the Miami Heat.

UCLA forward Gabriela Jaquez hugs coach Cori Close during the second half of the Bruins’ win over South Carolina in the NCAA women’s national championship Sunday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

“I imagined this moment, I imagined it so many times,” she said. “Oh my gosh, I’m so happy.”

Oh my, Kiki Rice, Angela Dugalic, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker, this being a victory for the rarest of teams in college basketball — a group led by six seniors and graduate students who scored more than 90% of the points during the tournament and were openly fueled by a desire to play one more game together.

Oh my, Cori, this being a legacy triumph for Coach Cori Close, a John Wooden disciple who led through thoughtful motivation instead of mindless screaming. This was her 15th season as the Bruins’ boss, which previously made her the longest tenured coach without a national title.

“It’s truly indescribable,” she said from the celebration stage afterward. “The loyalty, the steadfast spirit, the character that they’ve chosen day in and day out. … I am just so humbled that they’ve chosen to commit to our mission.”

One of Close’ mantras is, “Sometimes you, sometimes me, always us.”

In Sunday’s finale, it was always all of them, a scrambling, scrapping bunch that stunned the three-time champion Gamecocks into submission in the third biggest blowout in women’s final history.

This was UCLA’s first finals appearance in the NCAA era, and they were trying to win their first title since Anne Meyers-Drysdale led the Bruins to an AIAW championship in 1978.

Yet they never blinked.

“This was a business trip for us,” said Dugalic. “We had the mentality that the job’s not finished. Now the job is finished.”

Jaquez set the tone in the first quarter by following a Dugalic miss with a flying layup as she was sent sprawling to the floor. She was fouled, converted a three-point play, and the Bruins were quickly sending a message.

They would not be intimidated. They would not be pushed around. And they would play every second, as evidenced by the first-quarter, buzzer-beating trey by Rice as she tumbled backward to give them a 21-10 lead.

The Bruins didn’t even panic when their leader seemed to panic, as Betts spent nearly half of the first quarter on the bench complaining that, “I’ve got something stuck in my throat.”

UCLA coach Cori Close, center, celebrates with her players after guiding the Bruins to the NCAA women’s basketball national championship on Sunday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Trainers checked her throat, gave her an inhaler and eventually nursed her back on to the court, where she told an ESPN interviewer that her throat was just dry from the desert air.

The Bruins kept the heat on during a second quarter in which they made mistakes, seemed to lose momentum, then collected themselves to maintain their huge edge. At one point UCLA committed four consecutive turnovers and the Gamecocks closed the gap to 11, but then UCLA’s defense got tough again and layups by Rice and Kneepkens helped them regain their advantage.

At halftime UCLA led 36-23 and the game was essentially over.

Jaquez put the bow on it when she hit a late three-pointer that made it 79-45, her shot followed by a smile and a scream to the heavens.

Highlights from UCLA’s win over South Carolina in the NCAA women’s basketball national championship game.

“Gabs is incredible,” said Leger-Walker. “She is that person that you never doubt is going to give her all. She impacts the game in so many ways.”

Leger-Walker ended the afternoon dancing with her teammates just as they have danced all season.

“I’m still processing the fact that we are national champions,” she said.

Believe it. These Bruins will be dancing forever.

UCLA players celebrate after defeating South Carolina for the NCAA women’s basketball championship.

DALLAS — The Lakers will be without their starting backcourt for the rest of the regular season — five more games — after Austin Reaves was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique strain on Saturday.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said Reaves underwent an MRI exam on his left olbique/rib area Saturday.

The team learned earlier this week that Luka Doncic has a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and will be out for the remainder of the regular season — and perhaps beyond.

The Lakers are also dealing with an injury to guard Marcus Smart, who has missed the last six games because of a right ankle contusion and is questionable for the game.

“It’s it’s lingering soreness in the ankle,” Redick said.

Even with all of this, Redick said the Lakers’ “mission hasn’t changed.”

“We want to get the third seed and we want to win a first-round series,” Redick said.

The Lakers are the third in the Western Conference, but Denver, Houston and Minnesota are within striking distance. The Lakers hold the tiebreaker over all three.

They’ll try to hold on to the No. 3 seed over the final five games of the regular season without Doncic, who leads the NBA in scoring (33.5 points per game) and is fourth in assists (8.3).

“I know Luka’s gonna do everything he can to get back on the court,” Redick said. “We don’t know what this recovery timetable looks like.”

The Lakers likely will have to lean more on LeBron James, a role the 41-year-old is more than willing to take on. James has been designated the third option behind Doncic and Reaves yet has still averaged 20.6 points per game, 6.9 assists and 6.0 rebounds in his 23rd season.

“It probably is going to look a little bit differently with Luka being out,” James said after practice. “I’ll figure that out and then, obviously, the coaches will figure it out as well.”

The Lakers are making the mental adjustment of playing without Doncic. After the Mavericks, they’ll have tough games against Oklahoma City, Golden State and Phoenix before finishing against lowly Utah.

“I mean, it’s a challenge for us,” James said. “It’s always got to be a next-man-up [mentality]. But there’s no way you can replace that type of impact. So, it’s going to be a collective group. We all have to figure out a way to do a little bit more. But even now, you got to be even more tightened up on the things that we do. When you lose a special player like that, you can’t have as many mistakes. So, we got to figure that out.”

For Redick, speaking for the first time since news of Doncic’s injury, he had to check on the temperature of his team to make sure his group was in the right space.

The practice Saturday on the campus of Southern Methodist helped.

“I think making sure that everybody’s in the right frame of mind, first of all, and then you know we worked on just offensive stuff, just cleaning up some stuff and being really explicit with what we want to run,” Redick said. “Did some offensive breakdown. It was definitely more of an offensive day.

“We did work on defense to start the practice, but that’s again that’s the primary sort of focus. How do we score, how do we score efficiently, and our defense again is, it’s we’re interchangeable. We’ve been interchangeable now for two-and-a half-months.”

James controversy

James created a bit of controversy when he said on “Bob Does Sports” YouTube video that Memphis should relocate to Nashville.

“I’m not like the first guy to even talk about it in the NBA. We all like, ‘You guys have to move. Just go over to Nashville,” James said.

James, when asked if he wanted to clarify his remarks, then mentioned Milwaukee also as one of his least favorite cities.

“I said Milwaukee as well,” James said. “I’m 41 years old (and) there’s two cities I do not like playing in right now — and that’s Milwaukee and that’s Memphis. What is your problem with it? I don’t like going home [to Cleveland] either. … And I’m from there. People are ridiculous. They also get mad at my son [Bronny James] being on the [Lakers] team, too.

“So, what are we talking about? People need to figure out other ways to put their energy to other things that’s important. Like, seriously? I’m not talking about the city, like the people in Memphis. I don’t like staying at the Hyatt Centric [hotel]. What’s wrong with that? Nothing. What are we talking about? What are we talking about? People need to chill the hell out.”

It was ugly.

It was beautiful.

It was a messy rock fight.

It was Bruin ballet.

In front of a stunned crowd at Phoenix’ Mortgage Matchup Center Friday night, the UCLA women’s basketball team defied stereotypes and defined toughness and did what few believed this dancing, dazzling group could do.

They beat somebody up.

They stared down presumably rougher Texas in the national semifinals and painted the floor in streaks of Longhorn and won the second-most important game of their lives.

Now they get to play the most important.

With their 51-44 victory over the burned Orange, the Bruins have advanced to the national championship game Sunday against a physically dominant group from powerhouse South Carolina.

UCLA center Lauren Betts shoots over Texas forward Breya Cunningham during their Final Four matchup Friday in Phoenix.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

Put up your dukes.

If you thought UCLA needed to take off the gloves against Texas, wait until they go bare knuckles with the deep and experienced Gamecocks.

Based on legacy alone, the national title bout is a mismatch.

South Carolina, under legendary coach Dawn Staley, is playing in the national championship game for the third straight year and fourth time in five years. Meanwhile, this is UCLA’s first title game appearance in the NCAA era.

South Carolina has won three championships in the last eight non-COVID-19 seasons. Meanwhile, UCLA is searching for its first NCAA championship and first title of any sort since Ann Meyers Drysdale led the Bruins to the 1978 AIAW crown.title.

Count the Bruins out if you must. But against Texas, a team that had dominated them during the regular season, the Bruins did all the counting as the Longhorns lay flat on their backs during an eventual knockout.

It turns out, being led by six seniors and graduate students on a mission to finish their careers together as champions matters. It turns out, a willingness to do whatever it takes to win that title matters even more.

And it turns out, 30 straight wins means something. These Bruins don’t flinch. These Bruins don’t retreat. These Bruins don’t have any doubt that they can survive whatever South Carolina throws at them, even if that’s enough fists and fury to make semifinal-losing UConn coach Geno Auriemma lose his mind during a profane in-game interview Friday on ESPN.

“The job’s not finished,” said Gabriela Jaquez, who once again seemingly showed up around every loose ball. “Still have one more game to win.”

UCLA forward Gabriela Jaquez drives toward the basket under pressure from Texas forward Breya Cunningham during their Final Four semifinal on Friday in Arizona.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

This game began, appropriately enough, with Angela Dugalic blocking Aston Judd’s shot and then glaring at her as the Longhorn lay in a heap.

“It’s such an amazing thing that we have another opportunity to play together,” said Dugalic. “One more day.”

This game ended with Lauren Betts blocking Madison Booker’s layup attempt with 18 seconds remaining and Texas trailing by just three.

“Oh my God,” said Charlisse Leger-Walker. “Another Lauren Betts specialty.”

After the block, Betts screamed loud enough to be heard from the desert to Westwood. Soon thereafter, her teammates were screaming with her.

“We knew it was going to be a tough, physical game and we knew we had to match that intensity,” said Kiki Rice.

Did they ever.

Defensively, they held Texas star Madison Booker to three baskets off 23 attempts, including an unbelievable 17 straight misses at one point. Their Bruins’ pressure was so intense, Texas took 21 more shots and still lost by seven.

Offensively, four different players scored in double figures while they had 13 assists on 18 baskets. Yeah, they committed 23 turnovers, the most in a Final Four game in 18 years. But who’s counting?

“I want to apologize to all the fans for the rugby match,” said Bruins coach Cori Close.

No apology necessary.

UCLA forward Angela Dugalic blocks a layup attempt by Texas guard Ashton Judd during thier Final Four game Friday in Phoenix.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

The Bruins dominated from the outset, holding Texas to a season-low six points in the first quarter as the Longhorns made just three shots. Hampered by their own mistakes, UCLA let Texas stay in the game until scores by Betts, Rice and Jaquez widened the gap to 10 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Texas battled back to within one possession late, but Betts’ block sealed it for a team that has come too far and endured too much to be bothered by even the most furious of comeback attempts. For the record, the mighty Texas team led for all of 54 seconds.

“This is amazing,” said Betts.

There are players on this team that have made four straight trips to the Sweet 16 and consecutive trips to the Final Four. South Carolina knocked the Bruins out during one of those tournaments. They’re well aware it could easily happen again.

But pressure moments Sunday afternoon with the basketball world watching? Bring it on.

“I think in those moments, we’re just so connected that regardless of what the score is, we could have been down 10, we still would have been as connected as if we were up 10,” said Betts, who missed only three of 10 shots and had 11 rebounds. “I’m just really proud of this group. I think it shows the maturity. I know I can count on anybody on this team, regardless of what the score is. We’re going to continue to show up and compete.”

For one more game. For one last time. For forever.

When Julie Uhrman and a fledgling ownership group that would quickly grow to more than 100 announced plans to start a women’s soccer club in the summer of 2020, the goal was to build something unique and different.

And in that she was wildly successful: four years after its founding, Angel City became the most valuable team in the history of women’s professional sports while funneling millions of dollars to community programs throughout Southern California.

What the team hasn’t done is win. And that, Uhrman said, has to change.

“It’s time to win,” said Uhrman, who this month is stepping down as the team’s chief executive to take a new role as principal advisor. “We’re in L.A. We live in a city of champions and we want to be on the same mantle as them. It’s a process but we have the right team in place, on and off the pitch, to accomplish that.”

Angel City will kick off its fifth season Sunday at BMO Stadium against the Chicago Stars. Over its previous four seasons, Angel City lost 12 more games than it won, finished with a winning record only once and made just one playoff appearance. And it has used four coaches, three sporting directors and more than 70 players in its search for success.

So this year sporting director Mark Parsons and coach Alexander Straus decided to try a new approach.

“We needed to rip it up and start again,” Straus said.

As a result, more than half the players on the opening day roster weren’t with Angel City at the start of last season. And nine women who started at least a half-dozen games last season aren’t there this year.

“This is Angel City 2.0,” Parsons said. “We’ve gone through a huge amount of staff change. We’ve gone through a huge amount of roster change. And January 2026 has become Year 1.

“Year 5 is Year 1 of building what we believe is a sporting organization that can get to the top and stay at the top.”

That’s probably not what the team’s long-suffering fans wanted to hear. They wanted to hear that this is the year Angel City wins a trophy. But after watching his team finish 11th in the 14-team NWSL in 2025, Parsons said that’s not realistic.

“You don’t go from 11th to being a top-four team. I think you come from 11th and you become a playoff team ,” said Parsons who, as a manager, took a Portland Thorns team with a losing record to an NWSL Shield and a league title in his first two seasons. “Last year was a tough year. Now we’re in a better place. So we’re still on the journey.”

Angel City coach Alexander Straus watches over a practice session at the team’s training facility in Thousand Oaks in February.

(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

So is the league. With the addition of expansion franchises in Denver and Boston, the NWSL entered its 14th season Friday with a record 16 teams, meaning each club will play a record 30 games. The top eight finishers in the table will make the playoffs.

For Angel City, the makeover to 2.0 really launched about six months before Parsons arrived when Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, became controlling owners of the club and committed $50 million to improving it. Part of that investment paid for the purchase and renovation of a sprawling state-of-the-art training center at Cal Lutheran University and part of it allowed Parsons to come in and tear things up.

When he took over as sporting director last winter, Parsons quickly set about overhauling the roster, leaving Angel City with one of the youngest teams in the NWSL, averaging 25 years of age, this season. Two players are still in their teens and eight others have yet to turn 23.

A year ago, eight players on the roster were 32 or older.

Among the key offseason additions are defender Emily Sams, an Olympic champion with the U.S. national team, and midfielder Ary Borges, a Brazilian international. They will join a core that includes Japanese midfielder Hina Sugita and Zambian striker Prisca Chilufya, who joined the team at the end of last season.

Of the four, only Sugita, a two-time World Cup veteran, is older than 26.

“We’re getting closer to competing for trophies,” Parsons said. “But making [the] playoffs right now is a logical next step. This year is about showing that we’re going in the right direction. But we can’t jump from 11th to one. Those days are over.

“We have overachieved the last 12 months in building a sporting organization, staffing departments and [constructing a] roster. There’s going to be ups and downs this year, like there is every year.”

Goalkeeper Angelina Anderson, entering her fourth season with Angel City, making her one of the team’s longest-tenured players, believes in Parsons’ deliberate approach and is confident the team is about to turn the corner.

“Having that methodical approach is really smart and it gives us kind of an overview of like, we want to win the championship, we feel like we’re in a really good spot, but there are daily, monthly, season-long challenges that we’re going to have to overcome if that’s where we want to get to,” said Anderson, one of three team captains. “It’s actually a very smart way for all of us to manage our expectations.”

Uhrman agrees too but being realistic is hard. When she helped launch Angel City, it was with the vision of building a winning team and nearly six years later, she’s still waiting for that vision to be released.

“Our aspiration is to win the championship. Our goal is to make the playoffs,” she said. “And we feel very comfortable that we can do that. It is a process. We’re realistic about where we are in the process and what we need to do to develop and grow.

“Believing in the fact that it’s a process is comforting because we are being realistic about what we are. But that doesn’t change what we want to accomplish.”