Women’s NCAA tournament: How to watch Lauren Betts and UCLA vs. Southern

UCLA has never made the Final Four of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

The Bruins could change that over the next few weeks. They begin March Madness as the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed for the first time in program history.

As the top-seeded team in Spokane regional 1, UCLA will host No. 16 Southern in the opening round.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch and enjoy the game.

The first-round game takes place at 7 p.m. PDT Friday at Pauley Pavilion and will be televised on ESPN. Another viewing option is to head over to UCLA and watch the game in person. Ticketmaster has seats listed for less than $35 and admission also includes the 4:30 p.m. game between No. 8 Richmond and No. 9 Georgia Tech.

UCLA Sports

UCLA sets school record by earning No. 1 overall seed in women’s NCAA tournament

No. 1 UCLA earned its highest women’s NCAA tournament seed and will face No. 16 seed UC San Diego or Southern at Pauley Pavilion Friday.

March 16, 2025

The Bruins are 30-2 overall and 18-2 in the Big Ten, with both losses coming in the regular season to rival USC. UCLA avenged those losses in the conference tournament final, defeating the Trojans 72-67 to win a tournament championship for the first time since claiming the Pac-10 title in 2006. USC is the No. 1 seed in the Spokane 4 regional, so a fourth Bruins-Trojans showdown this season would only take place if both teams reach the Final Four.

The Jaguars are 21-14 overall and 18-3 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Southern was the SWAC regular season and tournament champion. The Jaguars then had to play in the First Four, where they defeated UC San Diego 68-56 Wednesday night to punch their ticket to Westwood.

Sports

March Madness women’s tournament analysis: Teams and players to watch

Here’s a look at the players to watch, potential Cinderella teams and matchup analysis for each region of the 2025 NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

March 17, 2025

Lauren Betts leads the Bruins with 19.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocks a game. Kiki Rice has scored 12.8 points a game while leading UCLA in assists (4.8) and steals (1.6). Coach Cori Close was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Assn. coach of the year Thursday after leading the Bruins to their first 30-win season.

Senior Aniya Gourdine is the Jaguars’ leader in points (12), rebounds (4.8) and steals (2.4).