Sports
UCLA survives late surge from Texas to make first NCAA title game
PHOENIX — There would be no offensive showcase between UCLA and Texas on Friday night, a slog of a game that ended up as one of the lowest scoring in women’s Final Four history. The Bruins did just enough to give themselves a chance to win the first NCAA championship in the NCAA tournament era.
Behind Lauren Betts and a defensive performance that stifled Madison Booker and the Longhorns, UCLA held off a late Texas run and avenged its only loss of the season 51-44 in the semifinals, setting up a title game showdown against South Carolina on Sunday afternoon.
“All you can ask for is an opportunity to play your best basketball for a national championship,” UCLA coach Cori Close said.
UCLA, which has won 30 straight games since losing to Texas on Nov. 26, reached the title game for the first time in program history, though the Bruins did win the AIAW Large College championship in 1978. Ann Meyers Drysdale and several other players on the 1978 team were at the game, and Close made sure to acknowledge her and the precedent that group set.
For the Bruins, it felt a bit like redemption, not only because they fell to Texas 76-65 in November, but also because their Final Four showing last year as the No. 1 overall seed ended in an 85-51 blowout loss to UConn. UCLA coach Cori Close told reporters in the leadup to Friday’s game that she had done a “crappy job as a leader.” Players vowed to do better.
“Last year we took that loss really hard,” Betts said. “I think it made us think a lot about what we could have done better, not just in practice but as a team, leadership, being able to have tough conversations. I’m just really proud of the growth and the way that we’ve held such a high standard consistently this year.”
The Bruins advanced, but nothing about Friday’s victory was pretty. UCLA, which averages 85.1 points, had its fair share of issues scoring on the stifling Texas defense. UCLA had 23 turnovers, the most in a Final Four game since April 8, 2008, when Stanford had 24 against Tennessee.
But Texas fared worse and scored a season-low 44 points on just 30.8% shooting from the field, looking nothing like the team that had reeled off 12 straight wins after a loss to Vanderbilt in November in which coach Vic Schaefer questioned his team’s toughness. Booker, who averaged 19.3 points per game this season, had a season-low six points on 3-of-23 shooting.
“We couldn’t make a shot tonight, and that’s been my fear the last three days,” Schaefer said. “And this isn’t the place to air out our laundry, but we had more than one occasion where we might have a play called … and we just weren’t in the right place, people out of position. Sometimes these things happen on this stage and it’s not anybody’s fault.”
Schaefer added: “I have no idea why the good Lord picked tonight for us to not be able to make a shot. I think we feel like in our locker room, we let one get away. I think this one will haunt me as the coach for probably till the day I die.”
Close said she knew this game was going to come down to defense, but she never expected it to play out this way, apologizing to the fans “for the rugby match and 23 turnovers.” But she also told her team after beating Iowa 96-45 in the Big Ten title game, “You cannot fall in love with pretty offense and think that it’s going to be like this every game.”
“I told them there’s going to be a game in the NCAA tournament that you’re going to have to just grind it out and do it with your defense,” Close said. “This was the game we needed that. But the reality is, it’s really all about toughness at this point and finding a way to make a winning play, even if it’s a winning play you wouldn’t have predicted or chosen.”
Texas could not hit an open shot for long stretches, and Booker struggled. After making her first shot of the game, she missed 17 straight, the longest drought by any player in Final Four history. It was a stark contrast to their win over the Bruins in November, when Booker had 16 points and Rori Harmon had 26.
In that game, Betts scored only eight points. She was determined to change that in Friday’s rematch, and in a game in which points were at a premium, she did enough to assert her presence in the paint to be a difference-maker. Betts led UCLA with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and had 11 rebounds.
Given the scoring issues for both teams, the game stayed tight through the first three quarters. UCLA led 31-28 leaded into the fourth, but a 7-0 run broke the game open, keyed by a 3-pointer from Kiki Rice at the 9:04 mark and then a layup by Gabriela Jaquez to give the Bruins a double-digit lead.
UCLA led by 13 points with 4:36 to play, but Texas whittled that lead down to 47-44 with 55.8 seconds remaining, as its defensive intensity forced UCLA to turn the ball over and miss shots. Following a missed jumper by Angela Dugalic with 30 seconds left, Booker went for a layup, but Betts blocked the shot with 20 seconds remaining. Rice made two free throws with 13.3 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
“The entire game the coaches are just continuously telling me sprint back, sprint back, sprint back,” Betts said. “As soon as I saw [Booker] getting downhill, I’m like, all right, please block this, just don’t let her score.”
UCLA set the defensive tone early in the game, contesting nearly every shot and holding Texas to just six first-quarter points — tied for the second-fewest points in a quarter in the Final Four since quarters were adopted in 2016. But in the second quarter, the Bruins scored just six points themselves.
It all added up to becoming just the third time in Final Four history that the teams combined for fewer than 100 points in a game.
But what does that matter when you are standing on the verge of school history?
“This is what we all came here to do,” Jaquez said. “Just super proud of us to get us to the chance to have another opportunity to play for a national championship.”
ESPN’s Michael Voepel contributed to this report.
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When the NASCAR Cup Series went to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600 in 2025, Ross Chastain got into Victory Lane after closing at +1800 to be the outright winner.
Chastain’s impressive win came after leading only eight laps on the day.
Which driver will take the checkered flag when the series goes back to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day Weekend for one of NASCAR’s Crown Jewels?
Here are the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook as of May 24.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600
Denny Hamlin: +380 (bet $10 to win $48 total)
Tyler Reddick: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Kyle Larson: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Christopher Bell: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Chase Briscoe: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
William Byron: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)
Carson Hocevar: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)
Ryan Blaney: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Chase Elliott: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Brad Keselowski: +1800 (bet $10 to win $190 total)
Ty Gibbs: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Ross Chastain: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Chris Buescher: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)
Bubba Wallace: +2800 (bet $10 to win $290 total)
Alex Bowman: +2800 (bet $10 to win $290 total)
Austin Dillon: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Joey Logano: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Connor Zilisch: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Austin Hill: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Austin Cindric: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)
Ryan Preece: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Michael McDowell: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Corey Heim: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Erik Jones: +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Shane van Gisbergen: +13000 (bet $10 to win $1,310 total)
AJ Allmendinger: +15000 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Daniel Suarez: +17000 (bet $10 to win $1,710 total)
Josh Berry: +18000 (bet $10 to win $1,810 total)
John Hunter Nemechek: +25000 (bet $10 to win $2,510 total)
Zane Smith: +35000 (bet $10 to win $3,510 total)
Ty Dillon: +50000 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Noah Gragson: +50000 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Todd Gilliland: +60000 (bet $10 to win $6,010 total)
Riley Herbst: +60000 (bet $10 to win $6,010 total)
Cole Custer: +80000 (bet $10 to win $8,010 total)
Katherine Legge: +90000 (bet $10 to win $9,010 total)
Timmy Hill: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Cody Ware: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Here’s what to know about the oddsboard:
The Favorite
Denny Hamlin is coming in hot off an All-Star Race win at Dover. And while it wasn’t a points race, coming into Charlotte after starting from the pole and leading 103 laps in last week’s exhibition could give him the momentum he needs to grab the checkered flag at the Coke 600. His first and only win at this race came in 2022. In 2025, he started 20th but finished 16th after posting the best lap of the day at 29.37 and leading 53 laps.
One to Watch
Tyler Reddick is having an incredible season. He’s gotten into Victory Lane five times, including the first three races of the year. Cup qualifying got rained out, so Reddick will start from the pole today at Charlotte in accordance with league rules. On the season, Reddick has led 201 laps and has eight finishes in the top five. In 2025, he finished the Coca-Cola 600 26th after leading only one lap.
Sports
WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella opens up about what she wants fans to remember her for when she retires
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One of the best things to debate amongst friends is where professional athletes of a particular sport rank all time. Some make top 10 lists, others go by the Mount Rushmore rule.
Pro wrestling fans are no different. Championships, legacy and impact on the sport matter to those who take the time to watch wrestling 3-6 times per week for decades. How pro wrestlers are remembered by their fans is important to them.
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Nikki Bella confronts Becky Lynch during Monday Night RAW at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Aug. 4, 2025. (Michael Marques/WWE)
For WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella, she suggested in an interview with Fox News Digital that her championship accolades should be put aside. Using her voice to have an effect on someone watching her in an arena or at home is more important.
“I would love definitely to be remembered as fearless, as someone who wasn’t scared to use her voice, someone who wasn’t scared to pave the ways, someone who wasn’t scared to stand up to all the hate, who can still be her even when people try to tear you down,” Bella said, who became the Chief Margarita Officer for Madam Paleta Tequila earlier in the week. “What I’ve realized, and this is in any industry and this is throughout time, it’s never easy to be first or be the loudest about something. And there’s so many people who helped pave the way before us but when you’re at the forefront or when you’re at the face of that, you take on everything that comes with it – hate, love, support, everything.
WWE STAR LIV MORGAN OPENS UP ABOUT HER LEGACY, WHAT SHE WANTS TO BE REMEMBERED FOR
Nikki Bella returns to Monday Night RAW at PHX Arena in Phoenix, Ariz., on June 9, 2025. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE)
“I think that’s where I truly live up to being ‘Fearless’ Nikki, I just don’t stop. Even when I’m not at my best or when I’m at my greatest. I hope at the end of the day, people can look back and respect that too – even the ones who can be so disrespectful. They see things in such a different way and they really just don’t know. I hope to be remembered as that over anything.”
Bella said she understood that fans will look at her titles and accolades overall when she eventually decides to step away from action for good.
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She was a two-time Divas champion, including holding the championship for a record 300 days, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame with her sister, Brie Bella, in 2020.
She stressed, however, that the impact she made was held in high regard above everything else.
“I get some people get hooked on champion numbers, like 13 time, 10 time, five time, you know, for me, it’s always been about impact,” she told Fox News Digital. “And if the people tuning in, I was able to change some people’s lives. Maybe they were being raised in a not great home and I gave them the ability to be fearless and to use their voice to know they could be someone great one day, to me, that’s being a champion and that’s what I’d love to be more than anything. I look at my Bella Army and they are my true accomplishment.
Nikki Bella addresses the crowd during SmackDown at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on March 13, 2026. (Bradlee Rutledge/WWE)
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“That is better than any championship I could ever win, ever.”
SYDNEY: As Twenty20 cricket competitions explode around the world, Australia’s Big Bash League is struggling to chart a vision for the future, after plans to privatise its franchises stalled.
Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg is adamant that outside investment is necessary to shore up the game’s financial future and keep pace with a boom in other well-funded leagues played in a similar time slot.
They include the UAE’s ILT20, South Africa’s SA20, and New Zealand’s privately-backed NZ20 scheduled to start in December 2027, all bidding for the best local and overseas players.
“If those salary caps (of other leagues) are significantly higher than ours over the coming years, and players can earn more in those areas, then players will follow those. That’s a real risk to us,” Greenberg told local media.
“I want to make sure that for Australian cricket, our ambition is to have a league that runs at the key part of the year for us, which is the December-January window, and it’s the best T20 league in the world at that moment in time.
“To do that, we have to have a significant amount of money in our salary caps to attract not only the best players from overseas, but to retain and attract our own best players.”
He added: “The concept of bringing private capital to cricket is inevitable at some point.”
While not a direct competitor as it runs in a different window, the benchmark Indian Premier League has seen massive success thanks to wealthy benefactors, with England’s The Hundred also on a roll after an influx of private capital.
But it is a thorny issue in Australia with an initial proposal to sell stakes in each of BBL’s eight teams stalling last month amid concerns about a loss of control for the game’s local custodians.
While the Victorian, Western Australian and Tasmanian cricket associations voiced support and South Australia said it was open to the idea, New South Wales and Queensland rejected the move.
Queensland Cricket, which controls the Brisbane Heat, said it was worried about player payments skyrocketing to unsustainable levels, and that private owners may not be as invested in the grassroots game.
Cricket NSW, which operates the Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder, was similarly concerned that it could be detrimental to how the sport is governed and how local players are produced.
‘Sugar hit’
There are also fears about an Indian takeover, with the most likely buyers seen as the rich IPL team owners who have invested in other short-form competitions around the globe.
Former Australian captain Greg Chappell is in the “No” camp, arguing that the BBL belongs to the states and communities that have built it into a successful and well-attended product.
While acknowledging the commercial realities, he said selling it off was not the answer.
“The moment you introduce private ownership at scale, you introduce a set of priorities that may not always align with the long-term health of the game,” he wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Private investors, however well-intentioned, answer to shareholders, not to Australian cricket.”
Andrew Jones, a former head of strategy at Cricket Australia who was instrumental in the launch of the BBL, is similarly unconvinced.
“A one-off sale is a sugar hit, not a solution,” he said in The Australian newspaper, arguing that revenues can be better grown through sponsorships, wagering, ticketing, and more focus on commercialising the women’s game.
Despite scepticism, Greenberg remains confident and is now eyeing a hybrid ownership model.
This would allow the BBL franchises keen to sell stakes to do so while allowing those against to maintain complete ownership.
“If we end up not going together at the same time, can we still extract the same level of revenue, and can we extract the same level of value?” he said.
“I think we can, but I’ve got to do the work to satisfy a recommendation that would ultimately go to the members and our board.”
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