LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� and her UCLA teammates celebrated the Bruins’ first NCAA women’s basketball championship with their fans at Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night.
鈥淭his team is going to go down in history,鈥� Betts said. 鈥淲e’ve earned it.鈥�
Betts, Gabriela Jaquez and Charlisse Leger-Walker capped the party by hitting the court to perform their TikTok dance with the championship trophy in the background. Angela Dugalic made a snow angel in the blue-and-gold confetti littering the court.
鈥淭his group is so special,鈥� Jaquez told the crowd that filled half the arena. 鈥淲e’re all best friends.鈥�
Jaquez led a spirited eight-clap, the band blared the school fight song, and mascots Joe Bruin and Josie Bruin danced.
It’s been a whirlwind for the Bruins since their of South Carolina in the title game in Phoenix on Sunday. The game averaged 9.9 million viewers, the since 1996.
Coach Cori Close recalled arriving in Westwood as head coach in 2011 and someone saying they didn’t know if she could ever make Los Angeles care about women’s basketball.
The crowd booed.
鈥淟et me tell you,鈥� she said. 鈥淟.A. cares about women’s basketball now and you guys helped do that.鈥�
Close received a standing ovation from her team and the crowd that chanted 鈥淐ori! Cori!鈥�
鈥淚 want to say thank you to you,” she said. 鈥滻t truly does take a village to go win a championship.”
Eventually, a banner signifying the first NCAA women’s basketball title will be raised to the ceiling in Pauley Pavilion, where currently the only women’s basketball title banner is from the school’s 1978 AIAW championship, the precursor to the NCAA.
鈥淚t鈥檚 getting some company. I can鈥檛 wait,鈥� said Denise Curry, who starred for the Bruins on that team, along with Ann Meyers Drysdale.
Via video, Meyers Drysdale told the team, 鈥淭his is your TLC moment 鈥� your team, your legacy, your championship.鈥�
John Wooden’s single gold seat in a sea of blue ones sat empty behind the Bruins bench. He coached the men’s teams to 10 national titles, including seven in a row, and was a mentor to Close before his death in 2010.
Now, Close’s title run will be represented in the same rarified air as Wooden.
鈥淚t’s such a symbol of something that鈥檚 really made a difference in my life,鈥� she said.
Wooden’s son Jim texted congratulations to Close. Wooden’s great-granddaughter Cori Anderson sent a photo of her and her daughter dressed in UCLA gear.
鈥淭hey’ve been incredibly gracious to me,鈥� Close said.
The team’s six seniors took the stage in front of a mix of adults and young kids.
鈥淲e could not have done it without you,鈥� Jaquez said. 鈥淚 want to shout out all the little kids who gave us friendship bracelets, cookies and notes.鈥�
A group of young men from the Tamaki Basketball Academy in Auckland, New Zealand, performed a traditional Maori dance signifying respect and honor for Leger-Walker, who wrapped herself in her native country’s flag. The group flew into Los Angeles just to perform at the celebration.
“I鈥檓 the first New Zealand women鈥檚 basketball player to ever win a national title, so that鈥檚 been kind of the talk of the town,鈥� she said before the party. 鈥淚t’s huge for the kids back home to see that this is possible for them, too.鈥�
The Bruins headed to the Clippers game against Oklahoma City afterward. They’ve already visited the Lakers (“LeBron waved at me,” Betts said) and Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show. Next week, they’ll be at a Dodgers game.
鈥淚 did wake up this morning after a couple more hours of sleep and I’m like, 鈥榃ow, this is real. I did wake up again and I鈥檓 still a national champion,'” Leger-Walker said, laughing.
Betts was wearing a backward championship cap with a piece of the net tucked in front.
鈥淭his is my net, man,鈥� she said. “No one can take this from me. It’s mine forever.”
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