Topic summary
2024–25 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team
The 2024–25 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bruins were led by head coach Cori Close in her fourteenth year, and played their home games at Pauley Pavilion. This marked the program's first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Bruins were ranked No. 1 in the polls for the first time in program history after defeating the defending 2024 national champion South Carolina on November 24, 2024. The statement win over South Carolina broke the Gamecocks 43 game winning streak, the 7th longest women's Division I basketball streak at the time.
The 2024–25 season was the first for UCLA and USC in the Big Ten Conference and a notable chapter in the history of the UCLA–USC rivalry. The Bruins were undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the polls before the two teams met in 2025. On February 13, 2025, the No. 6 Trojans defeated the Bruins 71–60 for the Trojans' first victory against a No. 1 team at home. In the re-match at Pauley Pavilion on March 1, 2025, the Trojans and Bruins were tied for first place in the Big Ten in the final regular season game. In that game, No. 4 ranked USC Defeated No. 2 ranked UCLA 80–67 to win the regular season Big Ten championship. Both games drew national attention and media coverage, with many celebrities in attendance. The teams met a third time in the 2025 Big Ten women's basketball tournament championship game on March 9, 2025. The Bruins defeated the Trojans to win the Big Ten Tournament championship and received the conference's automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.
UCLA finished the regular season with a 27–2 record, 16–2 in conference and a second-place finish, with their only losses coming to USC. For the first time in school history, the UCLA Bruins were a number 1 seed and also the number 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. UCLA reached the Final Four of the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament for the first time in program history. Arriving at the Final Four, the UCLA women's basketball team traveled more than any other in the country during the season with 36,116 air miles. They lost to the eventual national champion UConn Huskies in a semi-final game. A documentary named You See LA produced by Fox Sports was broadcast on March 1, 2026 on FS1 immediately following the 2026 UCLA-USC women's basketball game. The episode includes footage from games and post-game locker room team meetings, team gatherings, and interviews.