No. 1 seed UCLA women’s basketball (36-1, 18-0 Big Ten) will face No. 1 seed South Carolina (36-3, 15-1 SEC) on Sunday in the NCAA tournament title game. The squads last faced off Nov. 24, 2024, when the Bruins walked away with a 77-62 victory, which vaulted them to their first No.1 AP Poll ranking in program history.

South Carolina is entering its third championship appearance in as many years, having last won the title in 2024. The squad is coming off a 62-48 upset over No. 1 overall seed UConn on Friday.

UCLA enters its first NCAA championship after a 51-44 win over No. 1 seed Texas. The Bruins ride a 30-game win streak, the highest in program history. The squad is seeking its first-ever national championship in the March Madness-era, having hoisted the title in 1978 before women’s basketball was incorporated into the NCAA.

Here is a breakdown of the matchup.

Personnel:
Coach: Dawn Staley
Bigs/Forwards: F Joyce Edwards, C Madina Okot
Guards: G Ta’Niya Latson, G Tessa Johnson, G Raven Johnson, G Agot Makeer
Best Player: F Joyce Edwards
X-Factor: G Raven Johnson

Stat Profile:
Points per game: 86.5
Field goal percentage: 50.5%
Points allowed per game: 57.3
Field goal percentage allowed: 34.6%

Frontcourt:

South Carolina’s frontcourt is led by 6-foot-3 forward Joyce Edwards, who averages a team-high 19.5 points per game, along with 6.7 rebounds per game – the second-highest mark on the squad. She is one of just two Gamecocks to start every game this season.

Edwards shoots 57.6% from the field, and has averaged 18.6 points per game across South Carolina’s tournament run. She posted 11 points and eight rebounds in the squad’s most recent matchup against UConn.

She is backed by 6-foot-6 center Madina Okot, who averages 13 points and a team-high 10.8 rebounds per game. Okot has grabbed double-digit rebounds in 26 games this season, including twice across the NCAA tournament.

Okot is one of the tallest and most impactful centers the Bruins will face this year, and she will likely challenge 6-foot-7 senior center Lauren Betts on the boards.

Betts, a First Team All-American, leads UCLA in scoring and rebounding, averaging 17.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. She shoots the ball at a 58.2% clip from the field. Betts has recorded 14 double-doubles on the season, including on Friday against Texas.

The Centennial, Colorado, local concluded the game against the Longhorns with 16 points and 11 rebounds on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. Betts, who has recorded 74 blocks on the year, had three blocks against Texas, including a crucial stuff on forward Madison Booker with less than a minute left in a moment where the Bruins led by just one score.

Betts is supported by 6-foot-4 graduate student forward Angela Dugalić, who averages nine points and 5.6 rebounds per game on 23.6 minutes off the bench. The Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year shoots 50.2% from the field and 33% from deep, giving her the ability to stretch the court against the Gamecocks.

Both frontcourts boast a lot of talent, but with UCLA’s four-guard front, Edwards might hold an advantage over a backcourt player who would be guarding her.

With that said, the battle down low between Okot and Betts will be a defining one in the matchup.

Backcourt

Florida State transfer Ta’Niya Latson has stepped up for the Gamecocks this season, averaging 14.4 points and 3.6 assists per game. Despite averaging only 2.9 boards per game, she recorded 11 against the Huskies, notching her first double-double of the season.

Shooting 49% from the field, Latson is a threat that the Bruins have to keep an eye on. She has performed in key games for the Gamecocks, including in ranked contests against LSU and Oklahoma, respectively.

Tessa Johnson joins Latson in the backcourt, adding in 12.8 points on a 46.8% clip from the field. She is the biggest threat from deep on the squad, knocking down 99 3-pointers this season with a 45.2% clip from beyond the arc.

The Bruins and the Gamecocks have comparable 3-pointers made per game, but coach Cori Close’s squad holds the advantage with 7.1 compared to South Carolina’s 6.1 a game.

Raven Johnson, who joins Edwards as the only other player to start in all 39 games this season, adds an additional 10 points a game while also leading the squad in assists, with 202 total. She is the Gamecocks’ best free throw shooter with a 83.3% clip.

Coming off the bench is Agot Makeer, who averages 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, making her the most impactful bench player on the squad. She shoots 46.1% from the field and finished with 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field against UConn.

The Bruins’ starting backcourt consists of four projected first-round picks – graduate students Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker, along with seniors Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice.

All four UCLA guards shoot above 35% from deep, with Kneepkens boasting a team-leading 42.9% clip from beyond the arc. The Bruins have not shot the ball well from the 3-point line this tournament, posting sub-25% clips in two of their last three games, but the squad brought its 3-point mark to 30.8% in the game against the Longhorns.

Rice, Jaquez and Kneepkens all recorded double-digit scoring numbers Friday, while Leger-Walker, who sits sixth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio with a 2.72 ledger, led the way with four assists.

The Gamecocks could be in trouble if the Bruins are able to heat up from deep.

But both teams boast very talented backcourts, promising a competitive battle.

Overall

South Carolina holds slight advantages over UCLA in the team stats, scoring 86.5 points to UCLA’s 84 and winning by a margin of 29.2 points compared to the latter’s 27.4. The Bruins do shoot the ball more efficiently than the Gamecocks, boasting a 51.1% rate compared to the latter’s 50.5% clip from the field.

Staley and Close’s squads are fighting for one of the biggest games of their lives.

The Bruins are looking to make program history, and the Gamecocks are looking to become the third ever team to earn at least four March Madness rings.