All posts tagged: UCLA

In a Battle Like McGwire and Sosa’s ’98 Home Run Chase, Oklahoma, UCLA Softball Sluggers Near Record

In a Battle Like McGwire and Sosa’s ’98 Home Run Chase, Oklahoma, UCLA Softball Sluggers Near Record

Published by Sam Flores

College softball is putting on a home run chase reminiscent of the epic showdown between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa nearly 30 years ago. Back in 1998, McGwire hit 70 homers to edge out Sosa’s 66 as both players blew past Roger Maris’ single-season major league record of 61. The duel between the St. Louis Cardinals slugger and his Chicago Cubs counterpart helped rejuvenate baseball. College softball has a similar home run race going on this year, providing an opportunity to boost an already rising sport. Laura Espinoza’s single-season record of 37, set for Arizona way back in 1995, could fall in the coming days. Oklahoma’s Kendall Wells leads the pack with 36. A pair of UCLA seniors also are in the mix — Megan Grant has 35 homers and Jordan Woolery has 33 as the teams head into their conference tournaments. Grant said pitching speeds increased in recent years and the hitters have caught up. UCLA and Oklahoma both have 173 home runs, having already shattered Oklahoma’s single-season record of 161 set in 2021. …

UCLA researchers discover key driver of fatty liver disease, inflammation and aging

UCLA researchers discover key driver of fatty liver disease, inflammation and aging

Published by Jenni Sidey

A small cluster of damaged immune cells can do outsized harm. That is the picture emerging from new research at UCLA, where scientists identified a rogue population of macrophages, the tissue-patrolling immune cells that normally clean up debris and help maintain order. In aging livers, and in livers damaged by fatty liver disease, those cells can slip into a senescent state. They stop dividing, refuse to die and begin sending out inflammatory signals that disturb the tissue around them. “Senescent cells are fairly rare, but think of them like a broken-down car on the 405,” said Anthony Covarrubias, senior author of the study and a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. “Just one stalled car can back up traffic for miles. Now imagine five or ten of them slowly accumulating. That’s what these cells do to a tissue: even a small number causes enormous disruption.” For years, scientists argued over whether macrophages could truly become senescent at all. Part of the problem was that …

UCLA claims its 1st NCAA women’s basketball title : NPR

UCLA claims its 1st NCAA women’s basketball title : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

UCLA players celebrate after defeating South Carolina in the women’s National Championship Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament game on Sunday in Phoenix. Rick Scuteri/AP hide caption toggle caption Rick Scuteri/AP PHOENIX — It’s mission accomplished for UCLA. Gabriela Jaquez, Lauren Betts and the rest of the UCLA seniors secured the first NCAA women’s basketball national championship in school history — a goal that was set after losing in the first Final Four last season. Jaquez scored 21 points, Betts added 16 and UCLA routed South Carolina 79-51 Sunday in the title game. “I knew we were going to do it. Coming to UCLA we all set out for a goal, and I imagined this moment,” Jaquez said. “I imagined it so many times, and I am just so, so proud. … Crying a lot, the confetti, all of the fans being here to support us, my family being here, it just means everything. Celebrating with this group, like … I’m so happy.” The near-record lopsided victory completed the Bruins’ journey through this year’s March …

Gabriela Jaquez lives her long-held UCLA championship dream

Gabriela Jaquez lives her long-held UCLA championship dream

Published by Sam Flores

PHOENIX — Gabriela Jaquez, tone-setter. Culture-setter. Scene-setter. Firestarter. Elite job-finisher — around the rim and in life. UCLA’s first NCAA women’s basketball championship win was more coronation than ballgame, a 79-51 blowout of monumental proportions against perennial power South Carolina. Fittingly, it starred one of the members of the Bruins’ royal family: a Jaquez hooper stealing her opponents’ souls from the outset. UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez drives ahead of South Carolina’s Tessa Johnson (5) during the first half of the NCAA championship game Sunday. (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times) All Gabs, no brakes. Going downhill. Smirking gamely all the while. “Relentless,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said. “Relentless.” Definitely one of those “uncommon, courageous women” that UCLA coach Cori Close sought to play in her program. “Living her dream,” said former UCLA star Jaime Jaquez Jr., whom Bruins fans might be thinking of now as “Gabriela’s brother” instead of the other way around. Jaime led the UCLA men to the Final Four in 2021 and has gone on to make his name in the NBA as a contributor …

UCLA crushes South Carolina for NCAA women’s basketball national title

UCLA crushes South Carolina for NCAA women’s basketball national title

Published by Sam Flores

PHOENIX — Lauren Betts turned to the crowd, her hands on her head, and eyes met with the UCLA family section. She mouthed one phrase twice before she and her teammates rushed the floor. “We did it.” With a 30-point lead by the end of the third quarter, much of the end of Sunday’s NCAA championship victory was a celebration of what UCLA had built en route to its 79-51 victory over South Carolina. By the final buzzer, it was a full-blown party. UCLA’s Kiki Rice, right, drives around South Carolina’s Raven Johnson during the first half of the NCAA national title game on Sunday. (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times) “Just winning with this team, turning around and seeing my team run to the court after the final buzzer, there is a balance of being in the moment, but you can’t help in the last couple seconds, it hits,” UCLA point guard Charlisse Leger-Walker said. “We were going to be national champions.” The Bruins’ first NCAA championship was a romp from start to finish, an inverse …

UCLA South Carolina NCAA Women’s March Madness Final Free Livestream

UCLA South Carolina NCAA Women’s March Madness Final Free Livestream

Published by Daniella Wilson

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, The Hollywood Reporter may receive an affiliate commission. The stage is set for today’s NCAA Women’s Basketball final, with UCLA taking on South Carolina for the 2026 March Madness championship trophy. At a Glance: How to Stream NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Online Today’s women’s basketball final airs live on ABC and you can watch the Gamecocks vs. Bruins live on TV with any basic cable package that carries a local ABC affiliate. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN. How to Watch UCLA vs. South Carolina Women’s Basketball Final Online Free Don’t have cable? There are a few ways to livestream the UCLA vs. South Carolina game online, including ways to stream the March Madness final for free. TOP PICK DirecTV To watch the Women’s March Madness championship game online, you’ll need a live TV streaming service that carries an ABC feed. We like DirecTV, which offers more than 120 channels on its “Choice” plan, with pricing starting at …

Santa Monica man charged with kidnapping of UCLA student, rape of a separate woman

Santa Monica man charged with kidnapping of UCLA student, rape of a separate woman

Published by Sam Flores

A Santa Monica man has been charged with raping a woman near Culver City in October and kidnapping a female UCLA student in March to try to rape her, authorities said. Alexander Schecter, 26, was initially arrested at his Santa Monica home on March 12 after UCLA Police Department officers identified him as the suspect in a case where he allegedly prevented two female students from leaving his car near campus. On March 8 around 3 a.m., two female students reported that a man prevented them from exiting his vehicle and threatened violence when they were being dropped off near UCLA, police said. Schecter posted bail and was released. As UCPD officers continued to investigate they identified Schecter as the suspect in a previously unreported sexual assault involving a separate woman that happened about five months before the alleged kidnapping. Neither Schecter nor the other female victim is believed to have any connection to the university, police said. UCPD officers rearrested him on March 21. He then posted $100,000 bail and was released, according to …

Santa Monica man arrested on suspicion of kidnapping 2 UCLA students, raping another woman

Santa Monica man arrested on suspicion of kidnapping 2 UCLA students, raping another woman

Published by Sam Flores

The UCLA Police Department has arrested a Santa Monica man on suspicion of kidnapping two female UCLA students and, in a separate incident, raping a woman unaffiliated with the university. Officers arrested Alexander Schecter, 26, at his Santa Monica residence on Friday and booked him on one count of rape by force, one count of forcible oral copulation, one count of robbery, one count of extortion and one count of battery, police said. He is not believed to be affiliated with the university, and his case will be presented to the L.A. County district attorney’s office for filing consideration. Alexander Schecter was booked on multiple charges. Police are asking anyone with information to contact investigators. (UCLA Police Department) Schecter was released on bond Saturday and is due back in court on April 15, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s inmate information center. Detectives began investigating Schecter after two female students reported that a man prevented them from exiting his vehicle and threatened violence when they were being dropped off near campus around 3 a.m. …

How Kiki Rice became the UCLA Bruins’ top WNBA draft prospect

How Kiki Rice became the UCLA Bruins’ top WNBA draft prospect

Published by Sam Flores

The WNBA will likely get an injection of UCLA talent. One of the players most equipped to make an impact right away, it turns out, might be Kiki Rice. Some mock drafts have the senior guard as high as being picked No. 5 overall after concerns she might fall out of the first round entirely before this season. After a career-best season, though, Rice is one of the top prospects in a loaded class. That wasn’t a given after taking a step back in all statistics other than shooting last season. The No. 1 seed Bruins are hoping to ride that to a national title, with the next step coming Saturday against No. 16 seed California Baptist in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA guard Kiki Rice shoots over Ohio State guard Jaloni Cambridge during the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament on March 7 in Indianapolis. (Michael Conroy / Associated Press) WNBA scouts are hoping Rice proves she can be one of the best …

UCLA men and women (and USC women) learn their tournament path

UCLA men and women (and USC women) learn their tournament path

Published by Sam Flores

From Marisa Ingemi and Felicia Keller: The No. 1-seed UCLA women’s basketball team will host No. 16-seed California Baptist on Saturday in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament. The Bruins (31-1, 18-0 Big Ten), who won the Big Ten tournament championship last week, were the second overall seed in the tournament field revealed Sunday, just behind overall No. 1 UConn. “We watched a lot of UConn, we watched a lot of UCLA,” NCAA tournament committee chair Amanda Braun said on ESPN. “The way we watched UConn win throughout the year from beginning to the end, UCLA did a lot of winning too, but ultimately we gave UConn the edge.” There was a question as to whether UCLA would be named the top seed overall after going undefeated in Big Ten play and winning the conference tournament final over Iowa by 51 points, but the undefeated Huskies stayed atop the bracket. Coach Cori Close seemed unconcerned with the slight. “Everybody else can talk about whatever they want,” she said on Sunday. “We’re going to …