After they made it to the Final Four, the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team danced on the court to celebrate their ticket to the national semifinals.
Critics and detractors angrily dismissed the joyous celebration, calling it “cringe” and “arrogance” for the team led by Lauren Betts to have fun during the most stressful moments of their basketball careers.
After UCLA made it through a difficult Texas team in the semifinals, once again, Betts, along with her teammates, danced around during an open practice for media to watch as they got ready for the biggest game of their lives.
Again, more anger, eye rolls, and purists thinking that the UCLA women weren’t putting enough attention into the game by having their own dance party.
Well, Betts and the Bruins shut up every critic in the building in Phoenix on Sunday, not only winning the women’s national championship but blowing out Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks in a one-sided slaughter.
More news: UCLA Sparks Backlash for Dancing Before Title Game vs South Carolina
After a tense first few minutes of the game, when the Bruins got out to a lead, Betts exited with a possible throat injury. UCLA (along with Betts) started getting into a groove in the second quarter, which snowballed into a 30-point lead by the final period.
Fans celebrated as the Bruins put the final touches on the win, calling out the critics who looked down on Betts and her team for having fun on the court.
What the Bruins did immediately after winning, though, was no showboating or coordinated dance scene.
Instead, a team filled with seniors broke into tears as they burst onto the court, celebrating the first-ever NCAA championship for the UCLA women’s basketball team.
People online, even the critics, gave it up for the Bruins, who battled through adversity from coming up short last season to have a dominant run in 2026. They never trailed in either of their Final Four games against the SEC’s best in Texas and South Carolina.
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