This post was updated Feb. 22 at 9:29 p.m.

Last year, they were one game short.

An 80-67 loss to the Trojans in their final regular season game sealed a runner-up finish in the Big Ten championship race.

This season, the Bruins would not be denied. 

With No. 6 Michigan’s loss Sunday morning, No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball clinched its first outright regular-season conference championship in the NCAA era – which began in 1981.

“You always have to give the 1978 and ‘79 teams their due,” said coach Cori Close. “The reality is that they won a national championship and went to back-to-back Final Fours. It just wasn’t called that. And just because it wasn’t called that, the NCAA didn’t acknowledge it.”

UCLA (27-1, 17-0 Big Ten) defeated Wisconsin (13-15, 5-12) 80-60 Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins celebrated Senior Day before the contest, honoring seniors guard Kiki Rice, forward Gabriela Jaquez and center Lauren Betts, along with graduate students forward Angela Dugalic, guard Charlisse Leger-Walker and guard Gianna Kneepkens.

The six honorees all average more than 20 minutes per game and have made up the starting lineup in every contest this season.

In the first half, the honorees kicked off their final home regular season contest by scoring all 41 of UCLA’s points, giving it a 12-point lead entering the break. Over the course of the game, they scored 78 of UCLA’s 80 points – which tied the team’s lowest figure at home this season. 

“I didn’t think we played our best basketball today,” Close said. “These senior games can go either way. Sometimes the emotion just fuels you and you just play at such a high level. I was sort of walking a fine line like, ‘Hey, I want you to enjoy all this. I want you to take it all in,’ and, ‘We’ve got a job to do.’”

Jaquez – who, with Rice, is one of two seniors that have been at UCLA for their entire collegiate careers – led the way for the Bruins in the opening half, scoring 14 points and grabbing six boards to lead the team in both categories. 

“Super proud of our whole team for winning this,” Jaquez said. “This was part of our goals in the beginning of the season. But I think that’s the reason we all came here, to do things UCLA has never done before and to win a lot of games and win championships.”

Wisconsin, which entered the game on a seven-game losing streak and has dropped its last three contests by a combined 62 points, continued to badger UCLA, preventing it from breaking away throughout the entire game.

To kick off the third quarter, the Badgers went on a 5-0 run, narrowing the deficit to just seven points. They would never get closer than that, as the Bruins outscored the visitors 24-15 to finish the third quarter.

Betts was the only UCLA player to reach double-digits in the second half, adding 12 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds. 

“Winning a game like this, making history on our senior night has got to be one of the most special moments,” Betts said. “With all the fans here, my family being able to make it out here, my sister being on the same team as me – I mean, it’s kind of crazy. I’m just so happy to be here.”

The senior led the team in scoring with 19 total points and added 14 rebounds, good for her 11th double-double this season – a statistic she leads the Big Ten in.

The Bruins’ offense struggled to find rhythm throughout the contest, as they shot just 41.8% from the field and 33.3% from three – both figures lower than their season averages, which stand at 51.8% and 37.9%, respectively. 

UCLA kept Wisconsin at an arm’s length, in part because of its discipline on defense. Wisconsin didn’t attempt a single free throw until just 2:40 remained in the third quarter, while UCLA shot 16 during the same period.

The Bruins will take on USC at the Galen Center in their final regular season game, where they will look to preserve their unblemished Big Ten conference record.

“Coach Cori has been saying it,” Jaquez said. “1-0 every day. Today, we went 1-0, and that’s great. Obviously the regular season isn’t over yet. We still have another game, and that’s going to be a lot of fun.”