Texas Longhorns Fall to UCLA in Final Four as Historic Season Ends

The Texas Longhorns women's basketball team has come up short of its goal of winning a national championship.

Texas Longhorns forward Madison Booker reacts during the second half of a semifinal of the Final Four of the women's 2026 NCAA Tournament against the UCLA Bruins at Mortgage Matchup Center. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns women's basketball team has seen its historic season come to an end in heartbreaking fashion.

Lauren Betts scored a game-high 16 points and had 11 rebounds as the No. 1 seed UCLA Bruins beat No. 1 seed Texas 51-44 in the Final Four in Phoenix on Friday, ending the Longhorns' chances of making it to the National Championship.

UCLA clinches its first-ever appearance in the title game while Texas sees its season end in the semifinals for the second year in a row. The Bruins will play No. 1 seed South Carolina in the National Championship on Sunday. The Gamecocks beat fellow No. 1 seed UConn on Friday, ending the Huskies' perfect season.

Madison Booker Finishes With Poor Shooting Night

Texas Longhorns forward Madison Booker reacts as UCLA Bruins forward Angela Dugalic defends during the second half of a semifinal of the Final Four of the women's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Mortgage Matchup Center. | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The Longhorns trailed by 13 with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter before cutting the deficit to three, but the Bruins held on thanks to a late block from Betts on Texas star Madison Booker.

Booker scored the game's first basket to give Texas an early lead, but the Longhorns would never find themselves in front for the rest of the night.

Booker finished the game with a season-low six points and seven rebounds while shooting 3 of 23 from the field. The UCLA defense played her tight, but it was still a night the All-American forward will want to forget.

In her final game at Texas, guard Rori Harmon had eight points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. She shared an emotional moment with head coach Vic Schaefer on the sidelines as she checked out of the game in the closing seconds.

“We feel like in our locker room, we let one get away," Schaefer said after the game. "I feel like this one, will haunt me, probably a coach until the day I die.”

Kyla Oldacre led the way for Texas with 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Texas offense as a whole put together an uncharacteristic performance. The Longhorns had just six points at the end of the first quarter and trailed 20-17 at halftime, leaning on the defense to keep things close.

The Longhorns will now head into a painful offseason. Booker is set to return next year, but being unable to win a title this season will sit with Schaefer and the program for a long tim

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