UCLA’s national title celebration shows Bruins are ‘all trailblazers in a different lane’

LOS ANGELES — Tāmaki Basketball Academy had come all the way from New Zealand to perform on the blue and yellow confetti-covered floor of Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

The voices and stomps of their haka reverberated on the floor and were embraced by New Zealand-born UCLA women’s basketball player Charlisse Leger-Walker.

The starting guard became the first Kiwi to win an NCAA Tournament title when the Bruins defeated South Carolina, 79-51, on Sunday in Phoenix. But the firsts don’t stop there.

UCLA’s first NCAA women’s basketball championship boosted Leger-Walker to her personal milestone and also made Gabriela Jaquez the first Mexican-American woman to win an NCAA title and Angela Dugalić the first Serbian-American to win it all.

“Everybody’s cultures, we always want to respect that,” Leger-Walker said. “And we highlight that a lot, but at the same time, it’s almost like we’re all trailblazers in a different lane.”

Jaquez fielded questions from Mexican news outlets throughout the Final Four, and both Leger-Walker and Dugalić both said their agendas have been flooded with media obligations from news outlets based in New Zealand and Serbia, respectively.

Dugalić, the Bruins’ 6-foot-4 forward, has been documenting her NCAA Tournament journey in TikTok – mostly in Serbian. Her comment sections are filled with international support in a variety of languages.

@thelifeofandji

#finalfour 🙂

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“Part of the reason why I started doing those TikToks in Serbian was to show them what March Madness is in America and how our traditions go here,” Dugalić said. “I’m really proud to say that they’re proud of me, like, that’s such an honor.”

The Bruins have become some of the most famous young women in Los Angeles – which is no easy feat, considering the number of celebrities that call the city home. They showed off their trophy at the Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night and four players appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on the same day. They were headed to the Clippers’ game later Wednesday and will be honored at a Dodgers game next week.

Former president Barack Obama posted a congratulatory message on social media, as did former vice president Kamala Harris. Former White House official photographer Pete Souza shared a photo on Instagram of point guard Kiki Rice standing with Barack Obama when she was 13 years old.

“My dad used to play basketball with him every once in a while when he was based around D.C.,” Rice said. “It definitely felt full circle and seeing that picture.”

The official UCLA celebration took place on Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion, where two separate video recordings of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and television personality Stephen A. Smith played on the Jumbotron at center court.

“I’ve been impressed from the moment I watched y’all,” Smith said in the recording. “Y’all are fantastic. Y’all are special. You deserve all the love and praise that you are receiving. I’m a native New Yorker, and here I am looking at the UCLA Bruins, and I’m happy for y’all.”

Each player is handling the spotlight in their own way. None of the seniors available to the media on Wednesday evening said they’ve had a moment to breathe.

Most are done with classes for the quarter and are gearing up for the WNBA Draft, which begins on Monday. Center Lauren Betts is projected by ESPN’s Michael Voepel to be the highest pick of all the Bruins and could be the No. 4 overall pick after being named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

“It’s nice to know that you’re not the only one that’s going through this, that other people are going through it as well,” Dugalić said. “So that’s the reassuring part, but at the same time, it’s like, my life is so up in the air right now.”

Cultures don’t clash on this team. They blend, win a national championship, and prepare women for the rest of their lives.

“Coach Cori always says, we welcome all of all of you,” Kneepkens said. “She means every piece of someone, and being individual and unique is really important in a team. It builds character because you can understand each other. You can learn to know how to be with different people, and so that’s what makes a team so special.”

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Eventually, a banner signifying the first NCAA women’s basketball title will be raised to the ceiling in Pauley Pavilion, where currently the only women’s basketball title banner is from the school’s 1978 AIAW championship, the precursor to the NCAA.

“It’s getting some company. I can’t wait,” said Denise Curry, who starred for the Bruins on that team, along with Ann Meyers Drysdale.