PHOENIX -- The game was ugly. Cori Close said so herself. The UCLA head coach watched her Bruins grind through a 51-44 win over Texas in the second Women's Final Four semifinal Friday night at Mortgage Matchup Center and then admitted to reporters: "I feel bad for the fans. 31-28? I mean, it's an ugly basketball" game. [1] She called it "more rugby than it was basketball." [1] She was smiling when she said it. Her team is playing for a national championship on Sunday.

Lauren Betts is why. The 6-foot-7 junior center finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks on 7-for-10 shooting -- 70 percent from the field -- the first player in Final Four history to post 15-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, 3-plus blocks, and 70 percent shooting in a semifinal or championship game. [2] She was the most dominant player on the court in a game where dominance was hard to find. Texas held UCLA to 51 points. UCLA held Texas to 44. The defensive intensity from both sides was suffocating. Betts was the only player who made it look like she belonged on a different level.

The play that will define this game -- and possibly the tournament -- came with 20 seconds remaining. Texas had cut the deficit to three points after a furious late rally. Madison Booker, the Longhorns' All-American guard, took the ball coast-to-coast, driving the length of the floor for a layup that would have made it a one-point game. Betts, heeding her coaches' persistent advice to sprint back on defense, met Booker at the rim and swatted the shot. [3] UCLA retained possession. Kiki Rice hit two free throws. The game was over.

"My instincts... It's just what I do," Betts said afterward. [4]

What she did to Booker specifically was clinical. The Texas guard, who came into the game averaging over 19 points per game, finished with 6 points on 3-for-23 shooting. [5] She was 0-for-5 against Betts in the first half. She missed 10 consecutive field goal attempts at one point. Her 3-for-23 line was the worst shooting performance by an All-American in Final Four history. [5] Booker is too good a player for one game to define her career. But this game will follow her into every preview written about her next season.

UCLA's offense was a committee effort. Kiki Rice scored 11 points, including the four free throws that iced the game in the final minute. Gabriela Jaquez and Gianna Kneepkens each added 10 points. [5] Four starters in double figures -- the kind of balance that survives a bad shooting night from any single player. Texas had no starter in double figures. Kyla Oldacre, coming off the bench, led the Longhorns with 11 points and 7 rebounds. [5]

UCLA will play in its first women's national championship game on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC, facing South Carolina. [5] The Bruins are the No. 1 seed from the West region. They have not lost since January. And they have Lauren Betts, who on Friday night played the most complete game of anyone in this tournament, in a game where complete was the only thing that could survive.

-- AMARA OKONKWO, Lagos