Women's March Madness 2025: UCLA, Cori Close reflect on Bruins reaching first NCAA Tournament Final Four

SPOKANE, Wash. -- UCLA is advancing to the Women's NCAA Tournament Final Four for the first time in program history after a 72-65 win over LSU. But Cori Close wanted to make sure everyone knew this won't be the first Final Four for the Bruins. 

"1978 AIAW, they won the national championship and went to the Final Four, and we had some of the alumni here from that team," Close said after UCLA's Elite Eight victory. "Debbie Willie Haliday and Denise Curry, and we had so many other alums."

Only 16 teams were competing in that tournament, but that trophy set the standard and is still UCLA's only national title. The alumni are not just part of history; they are also part of the present because some, like Curry, are still big supporters of the program and even made the trip to Spokane.

Curry knows a thing or two about the Final Four, as she registered a double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds against Montclair State in the 1978 AIAW semifinals.

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"One of the most amazing things. You have two people's numbers that are up in the rafters, and it's Denise Curry and Annie Meyers Drysdale, and they're season ticket holders," Close said. "I get a text from them almost before every game. Denise is here. Annie would have loved to have been here. I got a text from her this morning."

Meyers nearly had a quadruple-double in the AIAW title game against Maryland with 20 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and eight steals. Her impact is everlasting as the award for the top shooting guard in Division I is named after her.

Close says she leans on the alums often, and although she enjoys celebrating big victories with them such as Sunday's, she appreciates them the most because they have been there for her on her "darkest days."

"That's when they showed up in the trenches with me and said, 'Hey, hang in there. We believe in what you're doing, and we're behind you a hundred percent.'" Close said. "Those are the times I'll never forget. And to have it from the two people that have their numbers in the rafters, that's pretty special, and I'm humbled and grateful."

The players on the current UCLA roster were not yet alive in 1978, but they still understand the importance of acknowledging who laid the foundation for what the program is today. Gabriela Jaquez, who shined Sunday with 18 points and eight rebounds, was happy to see alumni in the stands.

"We appreciate the alumni. They're always supporting us, and we appreciate that so much, just to come out in Spokane and support us," Jaquez said. "We understand that it's not easy, and you got to take a flight and all the things that go into it. But yeah, it's really important that we remember our alumni and understand what they have done for us. We can be succeeding and they have blazed that trail for us."