For Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice, UCLA’s national championship mindset was decided early.
Coming off a 37-1 season that ended with a 79-51 win over South Carolina, the Bruins entered the title game with a clear sense of confidence. Asked at a Raising Cane’s press conference when they felt the game was in hand, Betts pointed to the moment they arrived.
“When we walked in the gym,” she said.
Rice pointed to the same moment, describing the team’s mindset before the game began.
“Honestly, when we walked in the gym, we were confident,” Rice said. “You could just feel the vibe, feel the energy that we had when we started warmups. You look around the team and in the locker room you’re like, okay, no one on this team is going to be okay with losing today.”
The Bruins carried that approach throughout the game, controlling the matchup from the opening stages.
UCLA players point to Texas loss as turning point
Despite finishing the season with one loss, Betts said that moment played a key role in shaping the team’s approach.
“I think our loss,” Betts said.
She pointed specifically to UCLA’s loss to Texas as a turning point.
“Our loss to Texas, I feel like that was our only loss of the season, and I feel like that was a really big turning point for our team,” Betts said. “I think we learned a lot about how we need to come out, and how we need to start games, and the mentality that we need to have, being aggressive from the very beginning.”
Betts said the team applied those lessons in later matchups.
“I feel like you saw that once we played them again,” she said. “We were not going to take it easy on them from the very beginning.”
She added that the loss helped reset the team.
“I think we just all just needed a little reset,” Betts said. “And so I think that pushed us and we’ve gotten a lot better since then.”
Preparation carried into championship matchup
Rice said the coaching staff emphasized consistency ahead of the title game.
“They just emphasized that we’re prepared,” Rice said. “We’ve worked for this moment. We don’t need to do anything differently that we haven’t done this entire season.”
She said the message was to rely on what had worked throughout the year.
“We are more than ready, more than capable, and just to play it with confidence and enjoy,” Rice said.
Betts, who was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player as well as Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, helped lead UCLA to its first national championship. Rice contributed as one of the team’s primary guards during the run, as both players are projected top picks in the upcoming WNBA Draft.