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ShotTracker Partners UCLA and South Carolina Collide for the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Title

PRESS RELEASE  |  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ShotTracker Celebrates Partners UCLA and South Carolina on Historic 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Appearance

Both programs meet tonight at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix in a national championship game that rewrites history for one and cements a dynasty for the other.

Date: April 5, 2026
Location: Overland Park, KS
Contact: ShotTracker Communications
Email: marketing@shottracker.com

OVERLAND PARK, KS — Tonight, the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship is a ShotTracker moment. Two programs we are proud to call partners, the UCLA Bruins and the South Carolina Gamecocks, face off under the lights at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix for the national title. We could not be prouder of both programs, both coaching staffs, and the players who made tonight possible.

For South Carolina, this is a dynasty operating at full power. Head coach Dawn Staley has the Gamecocks in their third consecutive national championship game and their fourth Final Four appearance in five years. Tonight, they are chasing their fourth national title and their third since 2022. The Gamecocks entered today at 36-3, and they earned their spot in Phoenix by doing something no team in women’s college basketball had done in 54 tries: beating UConn. South Carolina dismantled the previously undefeated Huskies 62-48 in the Final Four semifinal, a win built on defense, depth, and the relentless standard Coach Staley holds her program to every single day.

The numbers behind this Gamecock season are staggering.

  • 87.2 points per game scoring average entering the postseason, a program record
  • A-30.7 scoring margin entering the postseason, a program record
  • 51.0% team field goal percentage, only the second time in program history South Carolina has shot above 50%
  • All five starters averaged double-digit points
  • Joyce Edwards (sophomore): 19.8 points per game on 59.0% shooting
  • Ta’Niya Latson (senior): 14.6 points per game, second-leading scorer
  • Latson posted 16 points and 11 rebounds against UConn in the Final Four, her first double-double of the season
  • Third consecutive appearance in the national championship game
  • Fourth Final Four appearance in five years under Coach Staley
  • Defeated previously undefeated UConn 62-48 in the Final Four, snapping a 54-game winning streak

 

“We were super prepared by all of our coaches. I think we all wanted this really bad. We were just ready.”

-Agot Makeer, South Carolina freshman, following the Final Four win over UConn

For UCLA, tonight is something else entirely. The Bruins are making their first NCAA Championship appearance in program history. Head coach Cori Close, in her 15th season, has built one of the elite programs in the country, and this group of seniors is going out on their own terms. UCLA finished the regular season at 36-1, going a perfect 22-0 in Big Ten play, the first undefeated conference season in the Big Ten in a decade. They won the Big Ten Tournament championship. They earned the No. 1 overall seed for the second straight year. After falling short at last year’s Final Four, they came back and refused to be denied.

  • Lauren Betts: Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and AP First Team All-American
  • Led the Big Ten in blocks with 100 on the season, averaging 2.9 per game
  • Ranked second in the Big Ten in field goal percentage at 64.8%
  • Betts in the 2026 NCAA Tournament: 22.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 3.0 blocks per game on 70.1% shooting
  • Betts in the Final Four vs. Texas: 16 points, 11 rebounds, and a go-ahead block with 20 seconds remaining in a 51-44 win
  • Kiki Rice: AP First Team All-American
  • Gianna Kneepkens: AP All-America Honorable Mention
  • UCLA finished 36-1 overall and 22-0 in Big Ten play, the first undefeated conference season in the Big Ten in a decade
  • Cori Close: 2026 Big Ten Coach of the Year, only the fourth coach in Big Ten history to lead a program through an undefeated conference season
  • Angela Dugalić: Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year for the second consecutive season as a Bruin


“This team isn’t about individual players. It’s about the unit. We are better when we’re a unit. And that’s what makes this team special.”

-Cori Close, UCLA Head Coach

The 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship game does not happen without the programs, coaches, coordinators, and staff who pour everything into the work behind the scenes. ShotTracker is built for those people: the ones grinding through film at midnight, building scouting reports, and engineering the competitive advantages that win championships. We are honored to support both programs in that pursuit, and tonight we will be cheering loudly for two of the best teams in the country.

To Coach Staley, Coach Close, and every player, coach, and staff member at South Carolina and UCLA: congratulations. You have earned every second of tonight.

“The best programs in women’s basketball demand tools that match their standard. South Carolina and UCLA represent exactly what we build ShotTracker for. Watching two of our partners compete for a national championship tonight is something we are incredibly proud of. Both programs have pushed the game forward, and we are grateful to be part of their journey.”

Davyeon Ross, CEO, ShotTracker

ABOUT SHOTTRACKER

ShotTracker is the fully integrated basketball analytics and video technology platform built for elite programs. From live automated stats to AI-powered scouting, practice analytics to broadcast-ready graphics, ShotTracker powers the programs that move the game forward.

Media Contact

Trice Alford
ShotTracker Communications

talford@shottracker.com  |  shottracker.com

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