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![\"Lauren](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/madisonbooker.jpg\")
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The spirit of Wooden is alive and well with Close. Her phrases are easily made into inspirational quotes. Her love for the game is palpable. And her commitment to not just winning, but winning the right way comes straight from the lessons he taught her when she was just 22.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember he passed away the year before I got this job. I remember thinking to myself, \u2018Oh my gosh, I don\u2019t want to let him down,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cThe biggest way I can pay it forward is to live in a way and coach in a way and teach in a way that pays forward what he did for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
That approach is what helped her land Betts out of the portal in 2023. The former No. 1 recruit was shaken by her first season at Stanford. She\u2019d lost confidence and her love for the game. What followed was a long journey of mental health work, self-acceptance and, finally, dominance on the court and happiness off of it. Close was with her every step of the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCoach Cori really stayed patient with me,\u201d Betts said. \u201cShe wanted to see me accomplish everything that I\u2019d ever dreamed of.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Betts lived out several of those dreams. She played her last game of college basketball with her little sister, Sienna. She won a national title and was named Most Outstanding Player after recording 14 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks in the championship game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Betts accepted the award, her mom, Michelle, watched through the lens of her iPhone, squinting as her eyes welled with tears. Sienna cried too, and so did Close. They know what it took to get here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jaquez and Rice had their own journey. They spent all four of their college seasons at UCLA and remember countless meetings during their freshman year in which they discussed someday winning a title.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were determined, the core group, to do something UCLA hadn\u2019t done before in the NCAA era,\u201d Jaquez said. \u201cThat was important for us. We always believed. We always believed.\u201d<\/p>\n
That belief was a decision. Just like it was a decision to embrace each other. To do less as individuals and more as a team. To win the national title.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tMeet your guide<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t![\"Eden](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1-e1730034377855.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\tEden Laase<\/p>\n
Eden Laase has been covering women\u2019s basketball exclusively for the last four years. Before that she spent time as a beat writer covering Gonzaga men\u2019s basketball, college hockey in Colorado, and high school sports in Michigan. Eden\u2019s work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Just Women\u2019s Sports, Yahoo, the Boston Globe and more.<\/p>\n