Under an explosion of blue and gold confetti, the rhythm of eight-claps and the sounds of “Bruin Warriors,” the UCLA women’s basketball team returned to their home court Wednesday evening to celebrate their first NCAA championship with the Bruin faithful at Pauley Pavilion.
Thousands of students, alumni, faculty, staff and local fans packed the arena, where head coach Cori Close and the history-making Bruins hoisted the fruits of their historic 37–1 season: the NCAA trophy. It was an emotional moment, and one in which the players, including senior Gabriela Jaquez — who helped secure UCLA’s title victory on Sunday with a 21-point performance against the South Carolina Gamecocks — were able to share their thanks with the community.
“I just wanted to say how much we really appreciate all the support you have shown all of us all season long. We could not have done it without you,” said Jaquez, who is expected to be drafted by the WNBA next week, alongside many players in the 2025–26 UCLA lineup, including Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens, Angela Dugalic and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
“We really set out on a goal this year to be national champions, and that was just really the expectation,” Jaquez continued. “And we worked hard every single day, we stayed focused, we stayed determined on our mission, and this group is just so special. We’re all best friends. You know, the power of friendship and the power of love [are] so special and so powerful … I just want to say thank you so much, and we love you.”
For many among the waves of supporters, the moment felt both long-awaited and deeply personal. Alum Denise Carejo, who earned a degree in history in 1988, grew up watching Bruins games on TV with her dad and recalled being in grade school when the women’s basketball team won the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national championship in 1978. All season long, Carejo never doubted the team, even when UCLA suffered its only loss — in September to the Texas Longhorns.
“When we lost to Texas in the beginning of the season in Las Vegas, I felt it was a good loss because it taught them how tough they needed to be,” Carejo said. “Back in the day, basketball never used to be that tough for women. But now, just like watching U.S. women’s national team soccer, you’ve got to be tough, and they brought the toughness.”
The celebration marked UCLA’s 126th NCAA team championship, adding another milestone to the university’s storied athletic history. And it brought some of UCLA’s sports luminaries, including Denise Curry from that 1978 AIAW championship team, who was able to share the moment with family as one generation of Bruins saluted another.
Juan Mejía, a 2008 UCLA political science graduate came to celebrate with his wife, Adriana, also an alum, and their young son.
“For me as a Bruin,” he said “it’s an opportunity to just be really proud of the university [and] come together with the basketball team. They made it last year to the Final Four; they’ve been an amazing team. I had hopes and all of the things, but you never really know with competitive basketball … You always wish, but there’s always the chance for a heartbreak, and we had one last year, but this year they were able to — and we rallied around them — take the whole thing.”
Current UCLA student Alyssa Stenerson said the national championship has sparked a new level of pride across campus.
“It was really great, especially seeing a women’s professional team getting so much hype in the media and then taking home the ‘Natty. It really does mean a lot personally, especially as a woman,” she said. “And at the school, bringing home our first national title ever? We made history. Our slogan is, ‘Champions are made here,’ and we brought home a championship. So, it’s amazing. And seeing the number outside Pauley go from 125 to 126 — I walk this [way] every day with so much pride because of this team.”
That pride — and the growing momentum behind women’s sports — was a theme head coach Cori Close emphasized as she helped close out the evening’s celebration.
“I remember the first time I came here in 2011, everyone was asking me, ‘I don’t know if you can ever make LA care about women’s basketball.’ … There was just a sense that it’s just too big a market, you’ll always be dwarfed by the Lakers, the Dodgers, and so on and so forth. Let me tell you: LA cares about women’s basketball now!” Close said to thunderous applause. “And you guys helped us do that.”
Indeed, the team’s historic achievement has captured the imagination not just of LA but the nation. In addition to being feted at Lakers and Clippers home games this week, Close and members of the team have appeared on “Good Morning America,” CNN’s “The Lead” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
For former UCLA women’s basketball player Mary Christiansen, who has held season tickets for 15 years, the championship was the culmination of a steady rise. She witnessed Bruin fever take hold throughout the Bruins’ campaign, right through to the national championship in Phoenix.
“It’s just been so awesome to watch the progression over the years and watch the program grow every year — and certainly indescribable. We were there in Phoenix, and it was indescribable,” said Christiansen, who graduated in 1988 and joined the crowd in Pauley along with her husband, Chris, a UCLA employee.
“It means a ton to me, just for my own personal ties,” she added. “[I’m] just so, so proud because it’s a difficult, difficult thing to do. And I think it’s awesome for the university — and especially just watching over the last couple of days how people who don’t even follow women’s basketball are involved and excited and caught up in all of it. I certainly wasn’t expecting that.”
Student Ezinne Okonkwo, a human biology and society major, said the national championship win coming on the eve of her graduation has made it a year to remember.
“For me, it’s just a great moment. It’s like a culminating experience going into my last 10 weeks at UCLA,” Okonkwo said. “It’s just amazing. … It’s [a] great memory to hold for a lifetime.”
