2026 Texas vs. UCLA Women's Final Four Preview: How, Who to Watch in Betts vs. Booker Clash

Lauren Betts and Madison Booker respectively headline this Final Four battle between the Texas Longhorns and the UCLA Bruins.

Neighbors on last year’s Final Four bracket, the Texas Longhorns and UCLA Bruins will finally get to face off on women’s basketball’s grandest stage.

(Photo by Justin Casterline/Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

The latter half of Phoenix’s Final Four proceedings in the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament pits UCLA and Texas, the respective champions of the Sacramento 2 and Fort Worth 3, against each other with potential national title glory on the line. It’s set to be an intense clash of post prowess, with Westwood’s Lauren Betts doing battle against Madison Booker from Austin.

Texas has adjusted well to the SEC grind and, in fact, took the most recent conference tournament from fellow Final Four participant South Carolina in its sophomore tour earlier this postseason. The Longhorns are fresh off a 77-41 thrashing of the Michigan Wolverines in the Elite Eight round, jumping out to an early, formidable advantage and never looking back. Booker led the way with 19 points while Rori Harmon dished out 13 assists. On the other side, Texas allowed Michigan to make just 13 shots, part of a 23 percent effort from the field.

Final Four Preview: Texas Longhorns vs. UCLA Bruins

Seeking its second national championship after its triumph in 1986, Texas has reached its fifth Final Four and its third over the last five years. Since taking down the Gamecocks in the SEC championship, Texas has handily handled Missouri State, Oregon, Kentucky, and Michigan on the big bracket, the closest game in that span being a 22-point win over the Wildcats in the Sweet 16.

UCLA has also adjusted well to a new conference, clinching both the Big Ten regular season and conference titles. It had to stave off a challenge in its own Elite Eight showing in California’s capital, downing Duke by a 70-58 final. Betts overcame some early struggles to post a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double while Angela Dugalić came off the bench to provide 15 points and four offensive rebounds. The eight-point halftime deficit was just the second that the Bruins had faced this season, but they kept Duke off the board for the final six-plus minutes of the third period to take lasting control.

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Can UCLA Win Its First Ring?

This is the Bruins’ second showing in the Final after making their maiden voyage last year, and they’re hoping to atone for an 85-51 defeat at the hands of the eventual champion UConn Huskies, who likewise returned to the national semifinals. UCLA took care of its tournament business before Duke’s devilish scare, defeating Cal Baptist, Oklahoma State, and Minnesota by wide margins in the debut trio.

This will be the 16th all-time meeting between Texas and UCLA and the second this season. The Bruins enter the Final Four fracas on a 29-game winning streak, and the only blemish that keeps them out of the sisterhood of perfection with UConn is a 76-65 defeat to these very Longhorns during the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Harmon broke loose for 26 points while Booker inched toward a triple-double with 16 points, seven boards, and five helpers. Gianna Kneepkens and Kiki Rice had 17 each in defeat, accounting for just over half of UCLA’s tallies.

Texas and UCLA have also squared off in the NCAA Tournament on five prior occasions, with the latter winning three thus far. The most recent get-together came in the 2021 Sweet 16, where Celeste Taylor outdueled Michaela Onyenwere in front of a supportive San Antonio crowd to earn a 71-62 victory.

Who: (1) Texas Longhorns (35-3, 13-3 SEC) vs. (1) UCLA Bruins (35-1, 18-0 Big Ten)
What: NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament National Semifinal/Final Four
Where: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, AZ
When: Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Wager: TEX -1.5 (O/U 133.5)

Jordan Lee takes it all the way as 1-seed Texas holds an early lead on 2-seed Michigan

Watch the Elite Eight now on ESPN and the ESPN App! pic.twitter.com/18APTDuSLL

— ESPN (@espn) March 30, 2026

Texas Longhorn to Watch: Jordan Lee

Texas obviously keeps things rolling with Booker and Harmon leading the way, but special attention should be dedicated to the sophomore Jordan Lee. She was a non-factor offensively in the blowout win over Michigan, but she played a strong part in limiting the Wolverines’ shooting on defense. Lee has a prime opportunity to get open with the Bruins manning the interior with Betts and Gabriela Jaquez, and she has the perfect facilitator in Harmon on her side. She can also set up opportunities on the fastbreak, standing as one of five Longhorns averaging at least a steal per game.

Angela Dugalić Scoring Breakdown vs Duke – Elite 8: (PTS)

• Spot Up: 4
• OREB (Putbacks): 7
• Post-Up: 4

– 15 points on 55.8% TS
– Up to 60.7% on Post-Ups (1.069 PPP) this season
– Up to 83.3% on OREBs (1.586 PPP) this season
– GAME. CHANGER. pic.twitter.com/DwlbHjKmLy

— Conrado Pascual (@CP3_777) March 29, 2026

UCLA Bruin to Watch: Angela Dugalić

UCLA handled itself fairly well in the first go-around with the Longhorns, though Dugalić struggled to perform off the bench as the one woman the Bruins inserted in relief. The depth star has since recovered to be one of the top sixth-women in the nation, notably posting a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double in the Sweet 16 win over Minnesota. Back in November, Dugalić was perhaps still adjusting to her role after serving as a starter on last year’s Final Four trek. Now fully entrenched in her role, Dugalić is a force to be reckoned with in all areas of the floor.

They Said It

“I think we have a really good chance at winning [the whole thing]. You can look all the way down our roster, and you see somebody who can provide, somebody who can come in and do something at any point, at any given moment your name is called. I have faith that everybody on the bench can come in and provide. So, yeah, I think we have a really good chance.”—Texas forward Justice Carlton (h/t Cedric Golden, Austin American-Statesman)

“I was mad and I just didn’t understand how that could happen. But, I mean, I think for me it just riles me up. It’s nothing, like, not getting mad at any individual. It was a team loss. I think, for me, it was just, how can I be better going into next year, and how can I push this team so we can get there again and have that opportunity.”—Betts on why she repeatedly watched last year’s Final Four loss against UConn (h/t Ben Bolch, New York Post)

Final Four Prediction

What Texas has accomplished under Vic Schaefer can’t be overlooked, and that includes a Thanksgiving feast earned against the Bruins in Las Vegas. But UCLA just feels too deep and capable of taking things a little too personally to let shortcomings in Sin City go unpunished. Behind the interior prowess of Betts and Kneepkins and Rice’s handling of business at the top of the key, the Bruins bear down and force themselves into a potential rematch with the Huskies, another bit of unfinished business that has haunted the Westwood basketball facilities.