PHOENIX – UCLA women’s basketball will play for its first national championship since 1978 when the Bruins face South Carolina on Sunday at Mortgage Matchup Center.
While much has changed in the women’s game since 1978, including the governing body of women’s college athletics, one figure remains a guiding force with the UCLA program.
Basketball Hall of Famer Ann Meyers Drysdale, the star of the 1978 AIAW champion Bruins, continues to make her mark on the program nearly 50 years after its last national championship.
Meyers Drysdale, who currently serves as an analyst for the Phoenix Mercury and Suns and was the general manager when the Mercury won their first two titles in 2007 and 2009, has made a major impact on this season’s Bruins.
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UCLA center Lauren Betts talked about the advice Meyers Drysdale has given the team.
“She’s constantly just reminding us of how meaningful it is to really play as a team, how much better off you’ll feel knowing that, like, you left everything out on the floor,” Betts said. “She’s like, ‘After every single game, I always wanted to look back and know I was the best teammate and I did everything I could, I left it all out on the floor.’
“I think that’s the biggest piece of advice we’re taking with us.”
Bruins head coach Cori Close, who has had a long-standing relationship with Meyers Drysdale, discussed how it has been “spectacular” to have the Hall of Famer as a presence with the 2025-26 team.
“I got a text from her (Friday) night,” Close said. “She has been there for us and with us since I got there. I’ve known Annie a long time. She’s never wavered in terms of what she’s been to me, as a young coach all the way through to my being a head coach at UCLA.”
UCLA has been a power in basketball for decades, winning 11 men’s national championships, the aforementioned 1978 women’s title, and the school has made numerous tournament appearances in both men’s and women’s.
However, it hasn’t been since the 1995 UCLA men’s team that the Bruins have cut down the nets to end their season.
Close said bringing a title back to Westwood Village is what the team is playing for the most.
“Bringing it back to the fan base, to really share it with the UCLA village that has supported us at every turn, that is probably the most meaningful part for me …,” Close said. “You guys have heard me say several times that banners hang in gyms and rings collect dust, but who you become and who you impact, you get to keep forever. I want to stay focused on that. I want to stay a coach focused on things that last.
“That being said. To have that opportunity would be really spectacular because it gives me the opportunity to thank and connect to the UCLA village that has buoyed us, helped us, supported us, been incredibly enthusiastic supporters. The chance to connect that with them would be an honor.”
Betts talked about how bringing a title back to the fan base would “mean everything.”
“I don’t think I can even put it to words like how much it would mean for everyone, their families, this program, the alum,” Betts said. “We have all of Westwood backing us up right now. It’s just really special to see all the support that we’ve had this entire tournament. To bring it back would be like a dream come true for all of us.”
The Bruins take on the Gamecocks in the national championship game Sunday in downtown Phoenix. The game tips off at 12:30 p.m. on ABC.
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