PHOENIX — The stage is set. The Gamecocks are back.
South Carolina survived a Final Four rematch with UConn on Friday night, ending the Huskies’ perfect season with a composed and dominant 62-48 victory. Now Dawn Staley’s program has one game standing between them and a fourth national championship — and the opponent is UCLA, the program that handed Texas its only regular season loss and has been building toward this moment all year.
Sunday’s national championship game at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix tips off at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Here is everything you need to know before the ball goes up.
Game Information
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Game | 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship |
| Date | Sunday, April 5 |
| Time | 3:30 PM ET |
| Location | Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, Arizona |
| TV | ABC |
| Streaming | ESPN App, Fubo |
The Matchup
#1 South Carolina Gamecocks (36-3)
Dawn Staley’s program arrives in Sunday’s game having just delivered one of the most complete performances of their season, holding UConn — the nation’s most efficient offense — to 48 points while winning by 14. The Gamecocks have now outscored their five NCAA Tournament opponents by a combined margin that represents the most dominant postseason run in program history.
South Carolina is appearing in the national championship game for the third consecutive year — a feat only three other coaches in the history of women’s college basketball have accomplished. A victory Sunday would give Staley her fourth national title, moving her into sole possession of third place on the all-time list ahead of Kim Mulkey.
#1 UCLA Bruins
UCLA got here by beating Texas in the other semifinal, ending Rori Harmon’s career and advancing Cori Close’s program to the program’s first national championship game appearance in decades. The Bruins have Lauren Betts — the most dominant interior presence in college basketball — and have shown throughout the tournament that when things get difficult, they have the personnel and the coaching to respond.
Close has been building toward this moment since arriving at UCLA in 2011. Sunday represents the culmination of a fifteen-year project, and her team will not lack for motivation or preparation on the sport’s biggest stage.
The Key Matchup: Betts vs. Okot
The central tactical question of Sunday’s game is what happens when Lauren Betts and Madina Okot share the floor. Betts is the most decorated center in the country. Okot is the piece that changed South Carolina’s identity this season — the 6-foot-6 interior presence Staley did not have when UConn beat her in Tampa last year.
How each program chooses to deploy their center, and how each center responds to the defensive attention, will likely determine the outcome more than any other single factor.
What South Carolina Needs
The Gamecocks need the same defensive discipline that suffocated UConn on Friday night. UCLA is a different team — more reliant on interior dominance than perimeter shooting — but the core principle applies: limit clean looks, force difficult decisions, and make the other team beat you with their second and third options.
Offensively, Ta’Niya Latson’s 16 points against UConn established the kind of scoring leadership South Carolina will need again. Joyce Edwards must bring the same 38-minute anchor performance she delivered in the semifinal. And if Agot Makeer continues to produce at the level she has shown throughout this tournament, South Carolina’s depth advantage becomes a genuine weapon in the second half.
What UCLA Needs
The Bruins need Betts to have the defining performance of her career. She has been there before — the Elite Eight against Duke was a moment that demonstrated her capacity for high-leverage takeovers. But Sunday’s stage is larger, the opponent more physical, and the margin for error tighter.
UCLA also needs their perimeter players to make South Carolina pay for any defensive attention they devote to Betts. If Staley’s defense can take Betts away without giving up easy catch-and-shoot opportunities on the wing, the Bruins’ offensive options narrow considerably.
The Historic Stakes
For South Carolina, a victory completes a three-peat of national championship game appearances and delivers Staley her fourth title. For UCLA and Cori Close, it would be a program-defining moment — the first national championship in school history in the modern era of women’s basketball.
For the sport, it is two number one seeds, two elite coaches, and two rosters built for exactly this kind of game, meeting on the biggest stage women’s college basketball has to offer.
Sunday in Phoenix. 3:30 PM ET. ABC.
One game. One trophy. Everything on the line.
