No. 1 UCLA Survives Upset Bid from No. 3 Duke in WCBB March Madness to Reach Final Four

UCLA is on its way to the Final Four after surviving an upset bid from Duke in the Elite Eight.

The No. 1 Bruins beat the No. 3 Blue Devils 70-58 on Sunday to punch a ticket to the national semifinal, where they'll face either No. 1 Texas or No. 2 Michigan.

The second consecutive Final Four appearance is also just the second trip to the semifinal in program history.

Things were tight throughout, but Duke went into the second half with a bit of insurance, up by eight. The Bruins came storming back in the third quarter, though, outscoring the Blue Devils 20-8 to take a four-point lead heading into the final quarter.

UCLA kept its foot on the gas in the fourth quarter and managed to extend the lead to double digits heading into the final five minutes. The Blue Devils weren't fully out of it late, but they never got closer than seven points as the Bruins closed things out.

Lauren Betts led the way for the Bruins with 23 points, 10 boards and five blocks. Angela Dugalic also posted a strong performance with 15 points off the bench. It was far from the best offensive showing from UCLA, as it shot just 14 percent from deep, but that was enough to get past a Duke team that also struggled to find points.

Veteran guard Taina Mair had a strong outing with 21 points, but that was far from enough in a game where the Blue Devils shot 39 from the field and 8 percent from deep.

Now the Bruins are a win away from the national title for the second year in a row. Reaching the national title game would be a first for UCLA, but it will have a tough team standing in its way in the Final Four.