It was crunch time in the Elite Eight matchup of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament between UCLA and LSU last Sunday.
Gabriela Jaquez lobbed the ball into the post for Bruins center Lauren Betts, but a double-team forced the ball out of her hands and back to the former Camarillo High star.
Jaquez rose up, watching as her high-arcing shot flew up and over the contest from LSU star Flau’jae Johnson. When it came back to down, the ball splashed through the net, putting UCLA up 62-53 in the final 90 seconds of the game and delivering a knockout blow. Jaquez’s hands flew into the air in celebration.
A year to the day after LSU cut the Bruins' season short in the Sweet 16, UCLA clinched its first Final Four berth in program history and Jaquez — The Star's 2021-22 Girls Basketball Player of the Year — had led the way.
“Since we lost a year ago today, we just really remembered that, and we used that as fuel, and our coaches said, which I think is really good to understand, is that our programs are playing against each other but they’re brand-new teams,” Jaquez told reporters after the game. “So we have a lot of confidence in our team, and we've all gotten better, we all have grown from that, and we've added new members, and I just couldn't be more proud to be a part of this team.”
On the historic night for UCLA basketball, Jaquez shined with a team-high 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals. No shot she made this year was more clutch than her late 3-pointer in Sunday's win.
“I just got to stay ready at all times,” Jaquez said to reporters after the win. “I knew that’s the right shot I needed to take, and I have confidence in myself when shooting. I put in the work.”
The junior has been a key contributor to the top-seeded Bruins all season. She scored her season high, 23 points, in a win over Nebraska in the Big Ten quarterfinals. Jaquez has averaged 9.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 53.5% from the field this season.
She is the second member of her family to help UCLA make a Final Four. Her older brother, Jaime Jaquez Jr., led the Bruins men’s team to the Final Four in 2021 after a record-setting career at Camarillo High. He is now playing in the NBA for the Miami Heat.
Now, Jaquez is doing the same.“I was grateful to watch my brother's two games in Indiana on his team’s run,” Jaquez said at a news conference Thursday. “He’s ...
