The UCLA women's basketball team has been preparing for the NCAA Tournament all season. But before the Bruins lock in for March Madness, Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez, and Charlisse Leger-Walker decided to send off their final collegiate year in style with an unexpected dance team cameo at the men's game versus Nebraska.
The idea started with a challenge that Leger-Walker and Jaquez filmed for the former's YouTube channel, which saw the UCLA dance team teach them the whole halftime routine in 24 hours. Leger-Walker then declared that they would perform the routine at the men's basketball game on Tuesday if the video reached 1,000 likes. The mark was met, and then Jaquez had the thought to include Betts in the fun.
“Lauren and I have been wanting to take a dance class in LA for a long time,” Jaquez told ESPN. “We both grew up dancing, and we love to dance in the locker room and stuff. But this wasn't just like a TikTok dance, it was the real thing. So when Charlisse came up with this idea, we were all-in.”
After winning the Bruins' first solo regular-season conference title on Sunday, the trio took the time to practice the routine before heading to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament.
“We only had one day to officially practice before our performance,” Jaquez said. “So we were practicing in the mirror and just preparing any chance we could get.”
The basketball stars nailed their performance to Tate McRae's “Just Keep Watching” with the dance team, wowing the crowd and indulging in some joy before getting back to their more serious on-court business.
“This team is all about fun,” Betts said. “And this is the type of fun that we like to have. We genuinely love doing things like this together. I never thought something like this would happen but here we are. And I think it just shows the type of chemistry that this team has. Like look at us out here dancing and then winning basketball games.”
