{"id":619019,"date":"2026-02-23T02:31:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T02:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/619019\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T02:31:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T02:31:13","slug":"with-big-ten-title-clinched-and-a-21-game-winning-streak-no-2-ucla-looks-ahead-to-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/619019\/","title":{"rendered":"With Big Ten title clinched and a 21-game winning streak, No. 2 UCLA looks ahead to March"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 The final buzzer rang and the party was on inside Pauley Pavilion.<\/p>\n

No. 2 UCLA defeated Wisconsin 80-60 on Sunday, wrapping up the program’s first-ever outright league championship with one Big Ten game remaining. Previously, the Bruins shared the Pac-12 title with Oregon in 1998-99.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just love these girls so much,\u201d said Lauren Betts, who had 19 points and 14 rebounds. \u201cWinning a game like this, making history on our senior night has got to be one of the most special moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the band blaring and fans cheering, the Bruins donned white championship caps and gathered for a group hug at center court. It was especially emotional for Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez, the only two among six seniors who’ve spent their entire four-year careers in Westwood.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been amazing to watch the program grow since then,\u201d said Jaquez, who had 17 points and seven rebounds. \u201cThat’s a reason we all came here, is to do things UCLA has never done before.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bruins (27-1, 17-0 Big Ten) hope they’re not done yet.<\/p>\n

They’ve got their eyes on a national championship, something the women’s program hasn’t won since 1978. Back then, it was known as the AIAW \u2014 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women \u2014 and UCLA won the title behind star player Ann Meyers, beating Maryland and finishing 27-3.<\/p>\n

\"UCLA<\/p>\n

UCLA players pose with the Big Ten trophy after an NCAA college basketball game against Wisconsin, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Los Angeles. Credit: AP\/William Liang<\/p>\n

Today’s Bruins haven’t lost since Nov. 26 against then-No. 4 Texas. They’ve reeled off 21 consecutive victories \u2014 blowing out opponent after opponent \u2014 going into next Sunday’s regular-season finale at crosstown rival Southern California.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have one loss so that\u2019s kind of like what I think about,\u201d Jaquez said. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone’s worried about keeping a streak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Cori Close worked her way around the arena, thanking the band and season ticketholders, including a man from San Jose who told her, \u201cDo you know how much joy your team brings to so many people?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m sort of just trying to bask in being a part of something greater than myself or ourselves, and just trying to continue to get better everyday,\u201d she said. \u201cJust really not lose track of the journey. The outcomes and the destinations will take care of themselves as long as we stay really, really focused on our present mission.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"UCLA<\/p>\n

UCLA guard Charlisse Leger-Walker (5) controls the ball while under pressure from Wisconsin guard Ronnie Porter (13) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Los Angeles. Credit: AP\/William Liang<\/p>\n

Close paid tribute to the 1978 and ’79 UCLA teams. The ’79 team also reached the AIAW tournament, losing to eventual national champion Old Dominion in the semifinals during the pre-NCAA era.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t make it any less significant,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

UCLA joined the NCAA in 1984, and the current Bruins reached the program’s first NCAA Final Four last season. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn reality, this is one of the best teams in UCLA history,\u201d Close said. \u201cThey have done some things in our current landscape that haven’t been done before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several former UCLA players were on hand to see the Big Ten trophy raised.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to run around and hug all of them, and tell them thank you,\u201d Close said. <\/p>\n

Looking around the arena, Close saw the smiles on her players’ faces and those of the team’s fans, including young girls and boys.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think these seniors actually do really understand this is really special,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019ve set a bar for the culture of our program that we will be forever measuring it against. They’re pretty proud of who they’ve become.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 The final buzzer rang and the party was on inside Pauley Pavilion. No. 2 UCLA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619020,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3723],"tags":[7,319,217,231,772,1544,2148],"class_list":{"0":"post-619019","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-college","10":"tag-college-basketball","11":"tag-ncaa","12":"tag-ncaa-basketball","13":"tag-ncaab","14":"tag-wires-bot"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116117602039930439","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}