UCLA HC Cori Close, players discuss joy in winning national title -- TRANSCRIPT ADDED

UCLA head coach Cori Close, who has continually preached about embracing the joy in the journey over the results to her players, earned the right to bask in some of her own Sunday afternoon.

Close led the Bruins to a wire-to-wire, 79-51 victory over South Carolina at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix. Afterward, with the net hanging around her neck and a pair of water-stained goggles on her head, Close fought back tears not long after saying that the moment was “immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine.”

“This has been a calling, not a job,” Close told reporters in her opening statement. “It’s not about me. It’s about watching these incredible young women be dream chasers, to watch them grow in ways that they will remember and it will stick with them for the rest of their lives. And it’s about their work and their habits.

“I said I wanted to find uncommon, courageous women that were willing to make uncommon choices, that maybe — possibly — could yield an uncommon result. And today, it did.”

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Close was joined by tournament Most Outstanding Player Lauren Betts and guards Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice in the postgame press conference.

Betts, after playing the final collegiate game of her career along with five of her other teammates, said she will miss Close for the belief she instilled in her since transferring from Stanford in 2023. Betts spent her final three years at UCLA.

“To have someone who is able to push you while also just giving you so much confidence every single day, that’s something really special and I’m going miss that a lot,” Betts said.

Jaquez, who scored a game-high 21 points to go with 10 rebounds and five assists in a stellar all-around performance, said the last season together was a driven by joy and “the love we have for each other.”

“It’s really motivated us this whole season because we just want to do it for each other,” Jaquez said. “That just made us so special and that’s why we’ve been so successful this whole season.”

Rice said she realized it was a special team capable of delivering the program’s first NCAA championship “right from the beginning” when it was completed by transfer guard Gianna Kneepkens and a freshman class headlined by Sienna Betts.

“Right when we all got on campus, we knew that this group was going to be special,” Rice said. “You could just feel the energy, and I think that we’ve all been part of a lot of basketball teams but I think you just know when you have that competitive DNA in you.”

UCLA press conference after winning national title

Watch the video courtesy of the NCAA for their full thoughts after the historic victory:

TRANSCRIPT

CORI CLOSE OPENING STATEMENT: Yeah, it’s hard to even know what to say. First of all, thank you to all of you for partnering with us for this amazing game.

I remember my dad used to say, he knew I loved to compete. He goes, If you can take something that you love and continue to compete and impact people’s hearts in the process, you found a good thing.

This has been a calling, not a job. I’ve been saying it all day, but I don’t even know how else to say it, it’s immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine. I’m really grateful.

It’s not about me. It’s about watching these incredible young women be dream chasers, to watch them grow in ways that they will remember and it will stick with them for the rest of their lives.

It’s about their work and their habits yielding. We say this, we want to recruit courageous — gets me choked up. There were a lot of times we wondered if it could be true. I said I wanted to find uncommon, courageous women that were willing to make uncommon choices that maybe possibly could yield an uncommon result, and today it did (tearing up).

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. Can you talk about today, your drive? Can each of you share something that you’re going to take from Coach Close that you’re going to miss about her.

KIKI RICE: Today was just a fantastic display of our resilience, intensity that we came out. Just our will to win. We knew, we had a feeling this was our time, this was our year.

We came out there this entire weekend, and we would not be denied.

Let’s see. A moment that I take from Coach Cori. Probably just there in the locker room. She was dancing. She was doing some good moves (laughter).

No, so grateful for her for all these four years, the incredible times and lessons from coach Cori.

LAUREN BETTS: Yeah, like Ki said, the confidence we came out with, we just knew we were going to win because of all the prep and work that we put in.

I think when we find a way to play together and play selflessly, do what we do, no one can stop us. You guys saw that.

Man, I think I’m going to miss our bickering in practice. I’m going to miss that (laughter). No, I think I’m going to miss, like, man, I think the way she consistently believes in me, what I’m capable of. To have, like, someone who is able to push you while also just giving you so much confidence every single day, that’s something really special. I’m going to miss that a lot.

GABRIELA JAQUEZ: Yeah, they touched on it obviously. Our mentality coming out, we all just decided. I think that’s what made us so powerful this whole season. When we decided we wanted to do something, we did it.

Coach Cori, I’m super proud of her as well, the way she responded as a leader last year. We responded well. Obviously we’re here now. I think it started with Coach Cori and the way she wanted to make a change in our program and get us back here, get this result.

I’ll always be thankful for her and believing in me. I just appreciate you.

Q. Lauren, we all see how much joy you play with, you work with, the dance teams, things like that. To deliver a game like that in what is for any player a high-pressure moment but keep the joy, what does it mean to you?

LAUREN BETTS: Yeah, I mean, I think that’s why we’re able to show up and do what we do all the time. You can still show up and do your job and be serious and compete, but there is like a long journey that we’ve been on together. I think you can find the fun in all of it.

What an amazing way to finish off the season with a national championship, knowing that we did everything to get there basketball-wise, and we also just enjoyed each other.

We’re such a close group of girls, I’m going to miss them so much. I’m not even going to get into that (smiling).

Yeah, it’s crazy.

GABRIELA JAQUEZ: Yeah, I think just the joy we have and the love we have for each other has really motivated us this whole season because we just want to do it for each other.

That just made it so special, and why we’ve been so successful this whole season.

Q. Lauren, Sienna comes in, plays the huge minutes in the first quarter. A critical part of this. What made her ready? How meaningful is it to share this with her?

LAUREN BETTS: Yeah, I think she understands the moment. This is the championship, it’s at this point no one really cares how many points you score, what you do. She just wanted to go in and make an impact and help the team in any way she could.

For her to get crucial rebounds, go up against really strong bigs, that’s huge as a freshman. Just really proud of her.

I can’t wait to continue to watch her for the next three years. She’s going to do amazing things.

Q. Your teammate Gianna is a plus 41 today, putting together numbers all year. Talk about what she has meant to this program, to have this journey with her.

KIKI RICE: Yeah, Gianna is such a selfless player. She is a really freaking good basketball player. She helps us in so many ways.

Right when she joined this team she fit on the court but also off the court as well. Her transition has been so seamless because of how she’s been willing to dive right into the culture of our program, add to it, make us better. Really excited for the things she’s going to do. Grateful for the one year I got to play with her.

GABRIELA JAQUEZ: Being teammates with Gianna, she’s an ultimate competitor, she works so hard. You always have so much trust in a person like that because you know they’re going to be prepared.

Like Kiki said, the way she fit into this group so seamlessly, that says a lot about who she is as a player, and I’m just super proud of her.

Q. Lauren, it seemed like early in that first half you guys were okay with South Carolina’s bigs taking shots. Your thoughts on how you executed that game plan, but also on how the guards did at pressuring South Carolina’s guards so she couldn’t get free?

LAUREN BETTS: I think it starts with that perimeter pressure. Our guards did a really good job of just making it difficult for them.

I think once we get stops, they’re just not able to do what they want to do. I think that’s what we want to get in transition, able to score.

Yeah, I think our guards did a really good job of just taking away the point guard’s decision-making. For me, my job is to just protect the rim. Whatever they told me to do today in the scout, whether it’s guard them out there, just protect the paint, I was going to do what I got to do, so…

Q. Gabby, 21 points — Gabriela. Apologies. 21 points, 10 rebounds, 5assists, your most points in an NCAA tournament game this year. What about you and your preparation allows you to thrive in the biggest moment?

GABRIELA JAQUEZ: For me, just going into the game doing whatever the team needed. For me, just really focusing on defense and rebounding. That was a big part of our scouting report.

I had open shots and I made ’em. I think that was just kind of what it was. Just super proud of this group and how we played as a team to get this victory.

Q. You’ve said this is a special group, bonded together. It’s a lot of seniors, a lot of new in-comers. How early did any of you know or realize that this was the team?

KIKI RICE: Yeah, I think right from the beginning, right when we all got on campus, we knew that this group was going to be special. You could just feel the energy. We’ve been a part of a lot of basketball teams. I think you know when you have that competitive DNA in you. We get after it and compete at a high level, but we also love each other. That was the culture we created from day one, the culture that everyone was so willing to buy into.

GABRIELA JAQUEZ: To add, I think since the roster was made, we just knew we had the tools. It was just about staying focused and working hard every day to be the best versions of ourselves. We continue to talk about going 1-0, taking it one game at a time, being our best selves. That led us to this moment.

I love this team so much.

LAUREN BETTS: Yeah, I mean, I think it’s just buying into the process. We have everybody you could possibly want on a team. So skilled at every single position that I think the maturity to come in and sacrifice yourself and your ego and be able to put that aside for moments like these, it makes it so worth it.

At the end of the day, no one’s going to really care about how much you averaged this season when you have a freaking ring around your finger. No one cares (laughter).

Q. Lauren, what happened with your throat early on? Are you okay? Coach talks about this team being uncommon. This was an uncommon blowout in a national championship game. When did you feel that you locked it up?

LAUREN BETTS: To answer your question, I’m fine. I mean, like, now I am. I feel fine (laughter) yeah, no it’s just dry out here. I don’t know.

What was the other question?

I feel like I felt it in our prep. I mean, I felt like yesterday I knew that we were going to win just because we were so focused. When you have a certain energy in practice, you wake up the next morning, you’re like, We have done everything you can possibly do to be ready for a game. It’s just like the confidence that you have.

I feel like our energy was just really good. As soon as we came out the first couple minutes, everyone was just locking in on what they needed to do, winning their one-on-one matches. Rebounds was crucial. Yeah, I could tell from the very beginning.

Q. I asked Coach Close yesterday what you two have meant to the program, four-year players. After this game, after getting a national championship, what does this mean to you to spend all four years with this program and with a championship ring?

KIKI RICE: Yeah, I mean, this is really so special. There is no better way we could hope to end our career. We played the last possible minutes of basketball that you could play in the season. We are the only team that’s ending their season with a win.

Just to be grateful for all the moments we shared together over these four years. I just remember us coming in as freshmen, being in Cori’s office, having the conversations of this is where we want to get to, we want to win national championships, play in Final Fours. To know we gave it our all, this is where it ended up. It’s really rewarding because this is a special group of people. Just so grateful for all the moments.

GABRIELA JAQUEZ: Yeah, Kiki said it really well. Just coming in, being freshmen, that was the plan to cut down nets. I think we talked about it a lot. The fact that we won a national championship, wow, our senior year, like, it really does mean everything.

I said it before, but I pictured this moment many times, being a national champion. To do it with this group, it just really means everything.

Q. Gabs, your brother was here today. He had a great career at UCLA, played in numerous Final Fours. How big is it for you and your family to have those bragging rights over him having won a national championship when he didn’t?

GABRIELA JAQUEZ: Yeah, thankfully my whole family was here, both my parents, both my brothers. A lot of aunts and uncles, cousins. I just really appreciate all their support being here.

I’m really thankful that my older brother Jaime made the flight over here, to support not only me but this whole team. He’s really passionate about UCLA and our team. He has a lot of confidence in us, always supporting us.

I know it meant a lot to him as well. Not only him, but my whole entire family. Senior Night was emotional for all of us because they’ve been all going to Pauley Pavilion for so many years. To finish out my career here at UCLA with a national championship really does mean everything.

Q. This was a dominant performance from the opening tip. Did any of you see any of the predictions of this game? Most were saying South Carolina, including everyone from ESPN, all picked South Carolina. Any of you saw that? Did that drive you?

LAUREN BETTS: I did, but I don’t care. I mean, I’m pretty sure people had us losing. You know what? I don’t even care. We just won a championship, so you know what, I don’t really have much to say about that.

Q. Lauren, I saw you go into the stands. You were emotional, talking to some of your former teammates and your family. When you went up there, what was going through your mind?

LAUREN BETTS: Yeah, I mean, I feel like there’s so many people that have helped me get here today. My teammates, coaches, family, like my sophomore year here to have Izzy Anstey and Camryn Brown, who are really crucial parts of my life and process, how much I’ve grown as a person. They were crying more than I was just because they’ve seen me since my sophomore year, seen me grow up and mature, has been really special for them.

They mean so much to me. I just wanted to celebrate all with them.

Q. Gabriela, the other day you were talking about how you wouldn’t want to play anywhere else. Can you describe the satisfaction of committing to a program that long in an era when there is so much transition and movement?

GABRIELA JAQUEZ: I mean, super satisfied with this result. And the journey was even better.

But I think coming in my freshman year, my dream was to be at UCLA. Just to have an offer from UCLA, it brought tears to my eyes when Coach Cori offered me. To now be playing there, Kiki coming in, we had a big freshman group. We were determined, the core group, to do something UCLA hadn’t done before in the NCAA era. That was important for us. We always believed. We always believed.

I think Coach Cori started with that, just always believing in us. Again, I keep saying it, but I’m just super, super proud of this whole group, everyone in the program, for always believing. Job’s finished. Job is finished.

Q. Looking back, how much did last year at the Final Four hurt/help you?

KIKI RICE: Yeah, I do think that experience playing at the Final Four last year helped us just in our preparation from the spring to now. We knew what to expect. We knew what it would take to win at that level.

Having that experience, I feel like we were able to set our minds coming into this tournament, coming into the Final Four. Think this is what it’s going to take to win it. This is what it’s going to take to play high-level basketball, be really focused. Just our ability to do that regardless of the circumstances speaks to the maturity of this group and the mindset we were willing to take on.

GABRIELA JAQUEZ: Yeah, we talked about it a lot, about last year. I think that just really helped us. I mean, Kiki said it. We just knew what it takes. We knew what to expect.

Then coming in this year just being super confident in ourselves. We were better prepared. We knew what to expect, yeah.

LAUREN BETTS: Yeah, I mean, I remember, like, being asked in an interview, I just never wanted to feel that way ever again. I feel like ever since then we’ve really just, like Kiki said, grown in our preparation. I feel like everyone understood the moment. Never had to question that we weren’t going to go out there and be ready. You could tell on everyone’s faces how bad we wanted it. When duty called, everyone answered, so I’m just really proud of this group.

Q. Gabriela, I found your brother after the game and asked him do you have bragging rights; he said yes, you do.

GABRIELA JAQUEZ: Of course I have bragging rights. I’m a champion now, so…

Yeah, I think just really appreciate his support. I think the impact he had on me is just, you know, really inspiring. I think just growing up watching him compete all the time, I guess we kind of played similarly, but that just comes from watching him, always supporting him. I would always go to his game because I just love watching him and supporting him.

Yeah, just really appreciate his support.

Q. Your college journey was included this NIL era, revenue share. How have you navigated that? What support have you gotten from UCLA? Cori talked a lot about embracing this as a program.

KIKI RICE: Yeah, I mean, I think we’ve been fortunate to experience a lot of changes over the four years that we’ve been here, been in college.

Just the support and the willingness to be able to recognize that playing college basketball now is like a job. It’s not just something you show up to for fun. This is a job. We take it seriously. You get paid to do it. Just being ready to take on that mindset of you’re a working young woman. Even we’re only 18, 19 years old, it’s true, we have to have that mentality. The coaches and entire staff do a great job of preparing us to really take on that mindset, to be smart businesswomen.

GABRIELA JAQUEZ: Yeah, I think Kiki said it great. I think all three of us just coming into college basketball just to want to play college basketball. Then throughout the years there’s NIL, then you get paid.

I just think we just stayed true to who we are. It’s not about that for us. It’s about the love of basketball, the love we have for each other to get out there and compete.

Q. Lauren, this year you’ve been so vocal and so bright, in my opinion, about your mental health journey. You’ve overcome so much. What within yourself do you think has grown the most? What have you overcome the most within your mental health journey? What are you most proud of?

LAUREN BETTS: I mean, I would say, like, I can’t thank this program enough firstly for how much they believed in me. When I came in my sophomore year, I was completely different than I am today. I showed up and I had zero confidence. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to really, like, play basketball for that much longer.

Coach Cori really stayed patient with me. She wanted to see me accomplish everything that I’d ever dreamed of. They just continued to remind me, they want me to see myself the way they all see me. I feel like now at this point I can finally truly do that. I think that’s what I’m most proud of.

It hasn’t been an easy journey, but the way these people have truly embraced me for everything that I bring, and continue to love me, like, I love UCLA so much and I love these girls.