UCLA Women's Basketball Clinches Share of Big Ten Title

Bruins secure No. 1 seed for conference tournament with win over Washington

Mar. 1, 2026 at 4:47pm

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The second-ranked UCLA women's basketball team clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season title with an 82-67 victory over Washington on Thursday night. The Bruins, led by a dominant performance from center Lauren Betts, can clinch the title outright with a win over Wisconsin on Sunday in their home finale.

Why it matters

This is UCLA's first regular-season conference title since 1999, when they played in the Pac-10. The Bruins are looking to become the first Big Ten team to finish the regular season with a perfect conference record since Maryland in 2014-15, a season in which the Terrapins reached the Final Four.

The details

UCLA withstood Washington's 10 3-pointers by outscoring the Huskies 48-24 in the paint. Betts was central to that interior dominance, making 11 of 15 shots on the way to a game-high 23 points. The Bruins pulled away in the third quarter after a stretch late in the second quarter that frustrated coach Cori Close due to careless turnovers and poor rebounding.

  • UCLA clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season title on Thursday, February 19, 2026.
  • The Bruins can clinch the conference's regular-season championship outright with a victory over Wisconsin on Sunday, February 22, 2026.

The players

Cori Close

The head coach of the UCLA women's basketball team.

Lauren Betts

The starting center for the UCLA Bruins, who had a dominant performance with 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting.

Charlisse Leger-Walker

A guard for the UCLA Bruins.

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What they’re saying

“We have a lot we've got to clean up from today, we've got things we've got to grow in, but I want our overall message to be like, we did something that hasn't been done here since 1999 and that's pretty darn cool.”

— Cori Close, Head Coach, UCLA Women's Basketball

“Obviously we want to win it outright, so we're going to continue to make sure we finish this regular season the right way.”

— Lauren Betts, Center, UCLA Bruins

What’s next

The Bruins' game against Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon will be the home finale for several seniors, including Lauren Betts, Charlisse Leger-Walker, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens and Angela Dugalic.

The takeaway

UCLA's regular-season conference title, their first since 1999, is a significant milestone for the program. The Bruins' dominant interior play and ability to withstand Washington's outside shooting shows they are a well-rounded team poised for a deep NCAA tournament run.