PHOENIX - UCLA is in pursuit of something that the program has never achieved before in the NCAA era: a national championship. But it’s not the first time that UCLA has been a national champion at all.
That honor belongs to the 1977-78 UCLA team, which took home the national title while the Bruins still competed in the AIAW just a few years before college women’s sports were incorporated into the NCAA.
For several members of that national champion team, not only is there a lot to be proud of watching the Bruins of today, there's something familiar too.
“What I see is that the team and the players seem to complement each other. And we had that in 1978. Everyone knew their role. Everyone played their role fabulously,” Anita Ortega, who played for UCLA from 1975-79, said. “And I see that with [Lauren] Betts and Kiki [Rice] and they just seem to complement each other. They know where they fit.”
Jack Haslett -- The Sporting Tribune
UCLA women's basketball celebrates a win over Southern University on Sunday, November 23, 2025 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA.
Talent and selflessness
That nation champion team swelled with talent. Ann Meyers, who's jersey hangs in the rafters of Pauley Pavilion, led the team as one of the top players in the sport. Surrounding her were players like Ortega, who went on to play three seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League from 1979-81, and Denise Curry, a Hall of Famer whose jersey hangs next to Meyers'.
That champion team, like the Bruins of today, found a balance between their talent. They key to doing that was the love they had for each other and a selflessness that meant it didn't matter who was leading the game, all that mattered is what each of them could do to win. It's something these two teams of different eras have in common.
“When you look at UCLA... there might be four or five people, usually there are, in double figures,” Dianne Frierson Fowler, who played from 1976-80, said. “I really believe that each one of those players truly is happy for their teammates, no matter how many points they score… They truly feel like their teammates' performance is a reflection and a joint effort of their own.”
Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images
UCLA Bruins celebrate after defeating Minnesota Golden Gophers during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Sacramento Regional 2 of the women's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Golden 1 Center.
Throughout this season, the Bruins have shown that it's the team that matters most. No matter how many accolades were lauded on senior center Lauren Betts or senior guard Kiki Rice, they were quick to deflect, quick to say that the numbers don't matter.
For them, winning doesn't just mean taking one step closer to a national championship. It means playing one more game with their friends, with a team that loves each other.
That connection is something that transcends talent. A team can have all the skill and scoring power in the world, but it's about being more than the sum of their parts that makes a champion.
Jordan Teller - The Sporting Tribune
The UCLA Bruins bench celebrates during an NCAA basketball game against the Purdue Boilermakers, Wednesday January 21, 2026 in Los Angeles, Calif.
“There's tangibles that take you to the national championship.And there's teams that won there, they weren't the best team, but they were the best team that all dealt with their roles,” Denise Corlett, a UCLA Hall of Famer, said. “Especially these days, players, there’s so much about only themselves and I see this team being about each other and that's what's important.”
Trust in leadership
The connection between players isn’t the only common thread, though. It takes a great deal of leadership from the coaching staff to foster that connection too. The Bruins of ‘78 had Billie Moore, a basketball Hall of Famer, and the ‘26 Bruins have head coach Cori Close.
Balancing such an abundance of talent on one roster, even if the players make it easier with their own selfless attitudes, isn’t an easy task.
Close has managed to do it quite well, finding rotations that complement each other and addressing needs on the court with switch-ins from the bench. Close has also fostered trust in her team and a confidence in her leadership that's allowed them to be so effective.
Jordan Teller - The Sporting Tribune
Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins on the sideline during an NCAA basketball game against the Purdue Boilermakers, Wednesday January 21, 2026 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Colleen Matsuhara, who was an assistant coach under Moore for the championship Bruins team, knows firsthand how important that balance of leadership and trust is.
“She [Moore] deserves a lot of the credit because she put the players in their places and defined roles for them,” Matsuhara said. “She was a demanding coach, but not to the point where the players felt like they were being asked to do something they couldn't do... They had a belief in her and her system and I think that's very important.”
An unstoppable path
Connection, trust and talent are the core tenets that made the Bruins of ‘78 national champions and took them to the Final Four in ‘79 and it’s those traits that have taken the Bruins of today to the doorstep of the promised land.
They mean business 🤩#WFinalFour x @UCLAWBB pic.twitter.com/phFJhcZfOk
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) April 2, 2026
There’s one more shared trait though and that’s confidence. Having all the tools to win is one thing, but using them to win is something else entirely. Confidence is that last intangible that took the Bruins of ‘78 to the top of the sport and can do the same thing in 2026.
"We knew that we were unstoppable and I sense that this team has the same core feeling that they have tenacity, that they can win, that they're unstoppable and that nothing's going to hold them back,” Ortega said.