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  "path": "/cori-close-and-ucla-won-at-their-own-speed",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-06T13:50:06.000Z",
  "site": "https://defector.com",
  "tags": [
    "College Basketball",
    "Death To The NCAA",
    "Women's Basketball",
    "2026 ncaa tournament",
    "cori close",
    "gabriela jaquez",
    "lauren betts",
    "march madness",
    "south carolina gamecocks",
    "ucla bruins"
  ],
  "textContent": "There was a moment early in the third quarter of Sunday’s national championship game when you could see exactly how UCLA was going to win and why. The South Carolina Gamecocks, desperate for offense, had taken to gambling now: sending bold passes through traffic, pawing for steals, taking shots early in the clock. They needed something—anything—and in the absence of a real halfcourt method, the only option left for them was madness. South Carolina point guard Raven Johnson tried to push the pace, lobbing a pass overhead to a streaking teammate in transition. But into the air leapt Kiki Rice to intercept it. The camera lurched and slowly panned back the other way; the other Gamecocks went flying out of the picture. Rice considered her next steps and kicked the ball over to the corner for Charlisse Leger-Walker, who knocked down a three. In UCLA’s hands, the game calmed down.\n\nSlow and steady, the race was won. The Bruins defeated South Carolina, 79-51, Sunday afternoon to bring home the program’s first NCAA championship and its first national championship since the AIAW tournament in 1978.\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X57QWx6lQMw",
  "title": "Cori Close And UCLA Won At Their Own Speed"
}