In Final Four rematch, UCLA out to solve Texas' tough defense

PHOENIX -- Texas is the only team to beat UCLA this season.

At this point of the season, the rematch is all that matters.

UCLA (35-1) and Texas (35-3) will meet in the NCAA Women's Final Four in the second of two games matching No. 1 seeds on Friday, with the winner advancing to the national championship game Sunday.

The Longhorns' 76-65 victory in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas on Nov. 26? Long gone.

The Bruins have won 29 straight since.

"I'm really confident in our team and how we're going to be ready to compete," UCLA coach Cori Close said. "The bottom line is, you have to show up and be the best versions of yourselves."

Both teams are making their second straight Final Four appearance. The Bruins fell to eventual national champion UConn 85-51 in the 2025 semifinals. The Longhorns dropped a 74-57 decision to South Carolina.

The Longhorns' ability to negate UCLA's 6-foot-7 All-American center Lauren Betts was the key factor in their victory in Las Vegas.

Betts, who averages 17.2 points and 8.6 rebounds, had eight points and seven rebounds in that game. She had only eight field goal attempts as the Longhorns aggressively denied her the ball.

Guards Kiki Rice and Gianna Kneepkens scored 17 points apiece.

"The biggest difference looking back at the film is just creating opportunities to get the ball as much as I can," Betts said of the rematch.

"They're an amazing defensive team. As the (UCLA) guards are getting pressured on the perimeter, just trying to become so open that they can't not give me the ball."

The Longhorns have made defense a specialty in their run to the Final Four.

They have held four tournament opponents to 45, 58, 54 and 41 points and have outscored them by an average of 35.5 points.

Texas held Michigan to 22.8% shooting in the Fort Worth Region 3 final on Monday, when All-American Madison Booker tallied 19 points and guard Rori Harmon amassed 13 assists, seven points and seven rebounds.

The Longhorns have held their four NCAA Tournament opponents to 32.1% shooting.

"We want to be a physical bear inside," Booker said. "Our identity is defense. We want to make people play to their weaknesses."

Much has been made of coach Vic Schaefer's reaction to the Longhorns' 86-70 loss to Vanderbilt on Feb. 12, when said his team had "no heart" and were "probably the softest team I've had in years."

The Longhorns have won 12 straight since.

"I was as much disappointed in myself that night as anything, that my team would show up that night and play the way they played," Schaefer said. "... At the end of the day, they responded exactly like I thought they would.

"They've been at a way different level."

The teams are remarkably similar in the NCAA offensive rankings, and both are in the top 10 in Division I in scoring and field goal percentage.

Texas averages 85.0 points per game, sixth, and UCLA is seventh at 84.9. The Bruins are shooting 51.3% from the field, second to UConn (52.0). The Longhorns are shooting 50.2%.

The Bruins' most recent losses -- in the 2025 national semifinals loss to UConn and the Texas' defeat this season -- provided some lessons.

"Coming out with a certain level of aggression is going to be really important, and I'm going to make sure I do that from the very beginning," Betts said.

--Jack Magruder, Field Level Media