The No. 1 seed UCLA women’s basketball team will host No. 16 seed Cal Baptist on Saturday in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament. The Bruins (31-1, 18-0), who recently claimed the Big Ten tournament championship, earned the second overall seed in the tournament field revealed Sunday, just behind the top-seeded UConn.
Cal Baptist (23-10) secured their spot by winning the WAC title with a victory over Abilene Christian. This marks their second NCAA tournament bid in the past three seasons, having faced UCLA in the first round as a 15-seed in 2024. The Lancers, based in Riverside, are led by freshman guard Lauren Olson, who averages 15.1 points per game, and junior guard Filipa Barros, who pulls down 10.0 rebounds per contest.
Having elevated to a Division I program in 2021, Cal Baptist qualified for the NCAA tournament that same year but were ineligible to participate while transitioning from Division II.
Also at Pauley Pavilion, Ivy League champion Princeton (26-3) will face Oklahoma State (23-9) in the first round. The winner of that matchup will advance to face the winner of UCLA and Cal Baptist.
Within UCLA’s region, other strong contenders include No. 2 seed LSU (27-5), No. 3 seed Duke (24-9), and No. 5 seed Ole Miss (23-11). UCLA is placed in the second quadrant of the bracket, matching up with the third overall seed Texas on the Sacramento side. Notably, Texas is the only team to have defeated UCLA this season.
There was some speculation about whether UCLA would earn the top overall seed after an undefeated Big Ten run and a dominant 51-point win over Iowa in the conference tournament final. However, the undefeated Huskies ultimately retained their position at the top of the bracket.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/story/2026-03-15/no-1-ucla-bruins-ncaa-tournament-region-includes-lsu-duke
