she\u2019s so new to basketball<\/a>, playing just one year at Mississippi State before this year, that she can be inconsistent.<\/p>\nShe struggled at times against UConn, tallying 6 points and nine rebounds, but her presence on Sunday could be major, especially if UCLA continues to switch screens and allow 6-7 center Lauren Betts to defend guards on the perimeter. That could lead to some mismatches for Okot, or at least a chance at some easy rebounds. For a player with 22 double-doubles this season, that would work in South Carolina\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n
Kiki Rice, UCLA, senior, guard<\/p>\n
It would be easy to select Betts here, but for the Bruins to be successful, they must get effective guard play from Rice. She will likely be guarded by South Carolina\u2019s Raven Johnson.<\/p>\n
Though Johnson had just 2 points and four turnovers on Friday, she is one of the Gamecocks best defensive weapons, especially with her ability to guard different positions. Rice, who is a likely first-round draft pick, has enough talent to impact the game despite her defensive assignment.<\/p>\n
Though Rice struggled from the field (2 of 5) on Friday, she\u2019s been solid in this tournament, averaging 13 points, five rebounds and 2.6 assists. She could be a major difference-maker for the Bruins to win a national championship.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2269733823-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Kiki Rice\u2019s guard play will be essential against the Gamecocks. (Sarah Stier \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
What\u2019s at stake?For South Carolina<\/p>\n
The Gamecocks are looking to continue their dominance in the 2020s. They are playing in their fourth championship this decade, but a win would give Staley a third title in the same span. Much like UConn has completely dominated generations of the sport, the Gamecocks have been establishing themselves as the next dynasty. Sunday is their chance to continue that bid.<\/p>\n
For UCLA<\/p>\n
The Bruins already avenged their only defeat of the season, beating Texas 51-44 on Friday and are now looking to make more history. This will be their first championship trip and a win would make UCLA the second West Coast champion in the 2000s, Stanford won in 2021.<\/p>\n
Predictions<\/p>\n
South Carolina 71, UCLA 66: UCLA has the most talent, but this one is simple to me. I trust Dawn Staley more than I trust Cori Close. \u2014 Cameron Teague Robinson<\/p>\n
UCLA 75, South Carolina 69: Betts is a difference-maker inside, and UCLA will make enough 3-pointers to pull away late. \u2014 Chantel Jennings<\/p>\n
South Carolina 70, UCLA 63: The Gamecocks are fired up and already have gone farther than many expected. Staley\u2019s experience plus Agot Makeer\u2019s hot hand will help South Carolina go the distance. \u2014 Grace Raynor<\/p>\n
UCLA 67, South Carolina 59: Against a team that doesn\u2019t press full court, the Bruins\u2019 No. 1 ranked offense will lead them to victory. \u2014 Sabreena Merchant<\/p>\n
South Carolina 68, UCLA 61: The Bruins\u2019 size and offensive talent create a difficult matchup for the Gamecocks. But after ruining UConn\u2019s undefeated season, South Carolina will find a way on belief alone. \u2014 Jerry Brewer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX \u2014 UCLA and South Carolina will meet in Sunday\u2019s national championship game, staging a rematch from a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":853039,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,49,48,4278,666,5481],"class_list":{"0":"post-853038","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-south-carolina-gamecocks","12":"tag-ucla-bruins","13":"tag-womens-college-basketball"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116346063585780860","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=853038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/853039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=853038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=853038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}