PHOENIX – It was never just a national championship.

Yes, UCLA women’s basketball took home its first national championship of the NCAA era and first title since the legendary Ann Meyers Drysdale won the 1978 AIAW Women’s Basketball Championship.

Yes, UCLA became just the 17th school to win a women’s NCAA national championship since the tournament’s inception in 1982.

And yes, omitting LSU’s 2023 title win, UCLA became the first team to win its first NCAA title since Texas A&M did it in 2011.

There is no doubt that Sunday’s national championship is one for the record books, and no one can say otherwise.

In fact, UCLA’s No. 126 national championship may mean more than any other title won in the 21st century.

But from the onslaught of the 2025-26 campaign, the Bruins made it clear that it was always something more.

Yes, honoring the women who walked before them has risen to the forefront of many people’s minds as the Bruins achieve something not done since the trailblazers of the sport won it all in 1978.

The 2026 national championship is about commemorating the best roster UCLA women’s basketball may ever see and the goal they put forth four years ago, to bring a trophy to Westwood.

The 2022 recruiting class came together with one goal in mind: to bring something to Westwood that had been forgotten since the likes of Drysdale and co. – a culture and tradition of excellence.

Graduate student forward Angela Dugalić sowed the first seeds, transferring to the Bruins from Oregon on May 12, 2021, giving UCLA a former five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American.

Senior guard Gabriela Jaquez continued the good fortune, committing to the Bruins on July 30, two months after Dugalić, following her older brother, Jaime Jaquez Jr., to UCLA.

And the commitment of the second-ranked prospect in the nation, senior guard Kiki Rice, on November 4, 2021, only cemented the rumblings being felt in Westwood – something was brewing.

But year one of the No. 1-ranked 2022 recruiting class yielded a Sweet Sixteen defeat to none other than South Carolina – setting the stage for the ultimate culmination of their collegiate careers three years later.

Then came Lauren Betts.

The No. 1 recruit in the 2022 class left Stanford to join UCLA, giving the Bruins a roster teeming with pedigree and talent not seen in Westwood for decades.

Despite averaging 14.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and two blocks per game, the addition of an AP All-American honorable mention did not change the end result, as UCLA fell short of its ultimate goal by losing to eventual champions LSU in the Sweet Sixteen.

The aspirations brought to Westwood at the start of 2022 failed to be reached after year one and two of, arguably, the best recruiting class in the program’s history. But the Bruins knew that success could only be fostered if a core of players stuck together through adversity.

So the Bruins doubled down again, adding the third-ranked prospect from the 2022 class – giving UCLA the top three recruits – in future Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year Janiah Barker, alongside former five-star prospect Timea Gardiner and three-time All-Pac 12 selection Charlisse Leger-Walker.

Year three felt like a national championship was promised to Westwood.

Who could take down a juggernaut that added two former five-stars and a veteran guard to its already loaded roster?

Unfortunately, the answer was UConn.

And the Huskies not only dismantled the No. 1 overall seed – a team fresh off its first Big Ten tournament championship and Big Ten regular season championship and a squad led by the Defensive Player of the Year and finalist for Player of the Year in Betts – they embarrassed them, defeating the Bruins by 34 for the largest defeat in Final Four history.

Three years later – zero national championship trophies stood in the Bruins’ name.

Yes, the Bruins were successful in all aspects of the definition, but program records, conference success and a Final Four appearance still felt like failure.

And in the blink of an eye, just one year of eligibility remained for a group of seniors that set out to do the impossible.

One shot. One final swing. The last opportunity.

So, the Bruins came back again.

Their core of Rice, Jaquez and Betts returned.

And while guard Londynn Jones and Barker opted for the transfer portal, the Bruins got back Leger-Walker, who decided to forgo the entire 2024-25 season to fully heal from her ACL tear, added graduate student guard Gianna Kneepkens from Utah – a 50/40/90 scorer that also wanted one final shot at a trophy and returned Dugalić – who took a fifth year and a sixth player role for one final shot at a national championship.

There was no excuse.

All of the Bruin’s cards were on the table.

There would not be a better chance for coach Cori Close to win a national championship than this season – her final year with all her seniors, her final shot to fulfill the dreams they made before even stepping foot on Pauley Pavilion.

And after 36 games, the Bruins sat just two games away from a stage they have yet to reach.

They won their second consecutive Big Ten regular season title and conference tournament championship – doing both, going undefeated in conference play.

But talks of Texas – the lone team to defeat UCLA during the season – and UConn, the team that eliminated UCLA in the previous year’s tournament, seemed to cloud the Bruins’ virtually unblemished campaign.

The Bruins quickly put the first discussion to rest, holding the Longhorns to just 44 points and Small Forward of the Year and First Team All-American Madison Booker to just six points on 3-for-23 shooting from the field.

And even though South Carolina upset overall No. 1 seed UConn in the other Final Four bout, talk of the Gamecocks and legendary coach Dawn Staley again seemed to give UCLA’s opponent a leg-up in the national championship game.

No matter what UCLA did, it seemed others counted out Close’s squad.

But the women who dreamed the dream four years ago never wavered in their confidence that they could and deserved to be national champions.

And Sunday afternoon, they walked the walk – dominating the Gamecocks in a game that, from the tip, felt destined to end in UCLA’s favor.

It was never just a national championship; it was the culmination of dreams and aspirations set forth by a group of players years before they ever wore a UCLA jersey – a group that jumped every hurdle, doubled down every chance it could and never stopped believing.

“We decided to be national champions,” Jaquez said to ESPN’s Holly Rowe when asked what their team decided to be this season.