As 15-year head coach Cori Close stood in front of her squad before the 2026 NCAA women’s championship game, she gave them one target: to be the National Champions by the end of those 40 minutes. For a program appearing in its first-ever NCAA Finals, that was a big ask. But Close reminded them that while their talent is their floor, only their character will define their ceiling.

From the tip-off, the UCLA Bruins attacked the top dogs, South Carolina, and by the third quarter, they had very well ended the game. While Close’s tireless efforts with the flailing program were all worth it for the silverware she will take home today after the dominant 79-51 win, the celebration became even sweeter as she stood alongside someone very special.

After Close and her band of six seniors scripted a historic first NCAA title for UCLA while exacting revenge for the 59-43 Sweet 16 defeat in 2023 to South Carolina, ESPN’s Holly Rowe invited the head coach for a quick interview. But before she asked anything, Rowe confessed to Close that her mother was waiting to meet her. An emotional and teary-eyed Close hugged her mother to celebrate the program’s first appearance and win in the tournament finals.

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“It’s immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine. It’s beyond my wildest dreams,” Close said. “And it’s meaningful because of the people I’ve gotten to share with. It’s all about the heart, and it would be shallow without an amazing village and incredible people that are important to me my whole life.”

Close’s win didn’t just happen because of the team’s determination in this game. In fact, some of her seniors even withdrew from the WNBA Draft to extend their college basketball career in search of the program’s first-ever National Championship. And them sticking together worked.

This group had come the closest, reaching the Sweet 16 all four years and facing defeat to a formidable UConn in the Final Four last year. UCLA stars Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez were part of the 2023 team that lost the Sweet 16 game to South Carolina, and the duo played their part in the 2026 Championship game, with 31 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Bruins dismantled the Gamecocks, winning the game 79-51.

In the regular season, Cori Close already stated she was coaching a bunch primed to make history while addressing the potential of becoming the college program to send the highest number of players to the WNBA in a single season.

That they would end up going after giving their alma mater and the Bruins faithful their first National Championship will only make for fonder memories, especially as they move on to play for different WNBA teams against each other.

Cori Close has always come across as a passionate head coach during her tenure at UCLA, and congratulations poured in for the 54-year-old from every corner, including this former college basketball icon, who previously took a loss from Dawn Staley.

Caitlin Clark congratulates Cori Close on a historic night for the UCLA Bruins

It is an insurmountable task for several programs to win the National Championship in college basketball. And who knows it better than former college basketball superstar and current WNBA icon Caitlin Clark? The 24-year-old had record-breaking seasons at Iowa but couldn’t lead the Hawkeyes past the final hurdle twice, losing to LSU in 2023 and South Carolina in 2024. But she didn’t step back when it came to celebrating Close’s victory.

Clark congratulated Close with a post on X after UCLA’s National Championship Final win over a South Carolina program that had prevented the former Hawkeye from winning the NCAA Tournament.

The 24-year-old tweeted, “Not many care about the game as much as Coach Close … couldn’t be happier for her!! Congrats @UCLAWBB.”

Cori Close has always been a huge advocate of Clark’s talent, dating back to their days together for USA Basketball when Clark was a youngster. The 54-year-old has publicly defended Clark several times, admitting that while the guard’s rise will spark debates, her rising stardom has contributed to the overall growth of women’s basketball and is healthy for the sport.

As the college basketball season ends, the focus will now shift towards the upcoming WNBA season, and Caitlin Clark will hope she can finally add a major trophy to her already impressive resume. Who knows, maybe the 24-year-old could end up achieving it alongside one of the several UCLA seniors set to enter the WNBA Draft this year.