Minnesota's Season Ends as No. 1 UCLA Pulls Away in Sweet 16

The Gophers kept it close in the first half, but the Bruins turned on the jets and dominated the final 20 minutes of basketball.

Mar 27, 2026; Sacramento, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Kiki Rice (1) shoots against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Sacramento Regional 2 of the women's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Minnesota was a massive underdog for good reasons Friday night in Sacramento, California, and the No. 1 UCLA Bruins were simply too good for the Gophers to pull an upset in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

The Gophers were in the game at the half, trailing 34-29. But the Bruins, who improved to 34-1 on the season, blew the lead open by scoring the first eight points of the third quarter while holding Minnesota scoreless for the first 4:40 of the quarter.

Minnesota, a No. 4 seed, clawed back to get outscored only by seven points, 19-12 in the third, but the Bruins put the pedal to the metal to extend the lead to as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter, en route to an 80-56 win.

UCLA outscored Minnesota 46-27 in the second half.

The Gophers finished the season 24-9, reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005. They'll lose starters Amaya Battle and Sophie Hart to graduation, but three other starters, Mara Braun, Grace Grocholski, and Tori McKinney, have eligibility remaining.

It's unclear what Minnesota's game plan was, but if it was to attack the paint against the much larger Bruins, which appeared to be the case, it didn't work out well. Minnesota made 6 of 12 three-pointers, but shot 16 of 46 (34.8%) from inside the arc.

All-American Lauren Betts, at 6-foot-7, dominated with 16 points and five blocks. Angela Dugalac, a 6-foot-4 center, added 13 points and 10 rebounds, including five offensive boards, off the bench.

Minnesota also had no answer for senior point guard Kiki Rice, who led UCLA with 21 points.

Grocholski led the Gophers with 12 points, while Hart scored 11 and McKinney and Braun each scored nine. Battle had just six points on 3-of-16 shooting, and Minnesota's bench went scoreless. That said, Finau Tonga was the only player Minnesota used off the bench until the final minute of the game.

In the end, it's the most successful season for the Gophers women's basketball program in more than 20 years, and it happened under head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, who has been at the helm for only three seasons. Attention will quickly turn to the recruiting scene and the transfer portal, where there was potentially big news earlier Friday when 2025 Minnesota Miss Basketball winner Jordan Ode announced that she's entering the portal after her redshirt freshman season at Michigan State.

The incoming class of recruits could have an immediate impact next season with Natalie Kussow and Tori Oehrlein. Kussow won the Miss Basketball award in Wisconsin and is considered the 23rd-best senior girls' basketball player in the nation, while Oehrlein is also a top-50 recruit who, along with Kentucky-bound Maddyn Greenway, rewrote the record books in Minnesota high school basketball at Crosby-Ironton.