There were always going to be tears. In the final game at Pauley Pavilion for six UCLA seniors, it was going to be a stunning defeat or a cathartic release before the next step in the NCAA tournament mission.

It was the latter, as the decorated group of Bruins took their final stroll around the perimeter of the court and waved to the fans, tears glistening and smiles wide.

The top-seeded Bruins led wire-to-wire, beating No. 8-seed Oklahoma State 87-68 in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Monday night to advance to the Sweet 16. The Bruins will face No. 4 seed Minnesota on Friday in Sacramento.

One of UCLA’s seniors, Lauren Betts, put together the best game of her career with 35 points while shooting 15 of 19 at the moment her team needed it most.

“That’s really cool,” Betts said. “I mean, I can’t deny, like, that is really cool. I feel like the points, they really don’t mean anything to me. To me, like, I really just want to win games with this team. The fact that we won today is what matters most to me, and that we’re moving on to the Sweet 16.”

While UCLA (33-1) started much better than it did in the opening-round game, there were still elements to nitpick. The Bruins were outscored 21-18 in the third quarter, Oklahoma State (24-10) won the offensive rebounding battle and outside of Betts, the offense fell flat at points in the second half.

But with arguably the best post player in the country, the Bruins could overcome all of that, get their final Pauley moment and advance. It was the last time Gabriela Jaquez, Charlisse Leger-Walker, Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens, Angela Dugalic and Betts will play on UCLA’s home floor.

“I cannot wrap my head around that it was the last time,” said Jaquez, who had 10 points and seven rebounds. “That effort from Lauren, too. I’m super proud of her doing that tonight.”

UCLA has arguably the deepest lineup in the country, with four of its five starters averaging double-digit scoring and six WNBA draft hopefuls, but when the Bruins needed a scoring boost, the squad turned to Betts.

Betts scored 11 consecutive UCLA points in the last four minutes of the third quarter to put the Bruins back ahead by 19 while the rest of the offense went cold.

After building a commanding lead in the first half, they survived the lull.

“I think we just learned our lesson,” Betts said. “We don’t want another halftime with Coach Cori [Close] walking in there. We’re trying to avoid that at all costs. I think it starts defensively. Like, we’re going to score. Obviously, we know that. But I think just being the aggressors and taking things away is a really big point that we wanted to make this game.”

UCLA did apply early pressure, jumping out to an 11-2 lead while the Cowgirls went the final 4:26 of the first quarter without scoring, going 0-for-8 from the field during that span. UCLA turned that into a 25-point lead and was up 46-26 at halftime.

UCLA guard Kiki Rice, left, fights for the ball with Oklahoma State forward Achol Akot during the Bruins’ win Monday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

It was an inverse of the slow start against California Baptist on Saturday, when the Bruins held a measly 10-point lead at the half over the No. 16 seed.

“That was one of the takeaways after last game, everyone saw that,” said Leger-Walke, who had six points and a team-high eight assists. “We know that we play our best when we come out and hit first and be aggressive and take the game to them and not let it come to us.”

The Cowgirls shot 51.4% from the field in the second half to stay within striking distance. But Oklahoma State’s leading scorer, Achol Akot (23 points), had four fouls by the start of the fourth quarter and had to spend much of the final period on the bench.

“Each time you get further and further in [the NCAA tournament,] teams are gonna get better and better,” said Rice, who scored 10 points. “So they came out in the second half fighting. We expected that. We knew that, but got some tough shots and just got to be able to weather the storm.”

Kneepkens, who finished with 15 points, made a couple of key shots in the fourth quarter to help revive the Bruins’ shooting, but it was still Betts’ dominant showing that kept UCLA well ahead. Of UCLA’s 87 points, 50 came in the paint.

UCLA’s next opponent, the Golden Gophers (24-8) advanced on a buzzer beater against No. 5 seed Ole Miss on Sunday. The Bruins beat Minnesota 76-58 on the road during conference play earlier this season.

“They’re very confident,” Close said of Minnesota. “I fully expect it to be a great battle.”

The Bruins have to win four games before they could claim the first NCAA title in program history, and the road there only gets tougher. First it’s Minnesota, then a potential matchup with LSU or Duke for the regional title. Formidable No. 1 seeds Texas, South Carolina and UConn still loom on other portions of the bracket.

There is little time to reflect with such a perilous path ahead, but on Monday, there was the first sense of finality.

“My arm still hurts [from waving,]” Jaquez said with a laugh as she recalled acknowledging fans. “But I didn’t want to miss anybody.”

As New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and his siblings look to transfer an equity stake to a children’s trust, the overall value of the franchise has been revealed.

An NFL memo obtained by ESPN earlier this month found the Tisch family — Steve, Jonathan and Laurie — are seeking a transfer of their collective equity stake in the franchise to their children. The proposed stake was 23.1% of the team. 

The proposed transfer of equity values the team at $10.8 billion, according to Sports Business Journal, which would put a 23.1% stake at roughly $2.5 billion. 

For comparison, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross sold 1% of his team to billionaire entrepreneur Lin Bin with the valuation at a record $12.5 billion. 

Julia Koch, a board member with Koch Industries, also bought a 10% stake in the Giants with a valuation at $10.3 billion in October 2025. 

GIANTS CO-OWNER STEVE TISCH, SIBLINGS LOOK TO TRANSFER EQUITY STAKE TO CHILDREN’S TRUSTS, NFL MEMO SHOWS

It’s also worth noting that the NFL memo stated, “Following the transactions, the Sellers will no longer own any interest in the Club.” 

It is unknown if the transfer requests have anything to do with Steve Tisch’s name appearing in the Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department in January. His name appeared more than 400 times in the files, and while he said at the time he knew of Epstein, he denied visiting Epstein’s infamous island. 

“We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy and investments,” Steve Tisch said in a statement on Jan. 31. “I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.”

The U.S. Justice Department released more than 3 million documents related to the Epstein investigation, which included email exchanges from April 2013 and June 2013 between Tisch and Epstein. Some of those exchanges appear to show conversations about women. 

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in February the league would look into Steve Tisch’s association with Epstein. 

“Absolutely we will look at all the facts,” Goodell said at a news conference in San Jose, California, during Super Bowl week. “We’ll look at the context of those and try to understand that. We’ll look at how that falls under the (league personal conduct) policy. I think we’ll take one step at a time. Let’s get the facts first.”

The Tisch family has been involved in Giants ownership since 1991 alongside the Mara family, which founded the franchise in 1925. 

Fox News’ Chantz Martin and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Robert Vargas is in a bit of a time crunch.

The Los Angeles-based artist has embarked on one of his most ambitious murals. Titled “Samurai of the Diamond,” it features the Dodgers’ trio of Japanese stars — two-way player Shohei Ohtani and pitchers Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — in larger-than-life fashion on a 12-story wall of the DoubleTree Hotel in Torrance.

As of early Saturday afternoon, Vargas still had a lot of painting to do in order to have the mural finished by the official unveiling at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Anyone familiar with Vargas and how he works, however, knows he will get it done.

“It may be finished at 9:59, but at 10 o’clock we will unveil this,” Vargas said

Koreatown resident Diego Guerrero is one of those who knows Vargas’ style. After witnessing the artist working on his massive Fernando Valenzuela mural in Boyle Heights during the fall of 2024, Guerrero said he had “full faith” Vargas would meet his deadline this time around.

“I know he’s got this,” Guerrero said while visiting the DoubleTree site Saturday. “Last time he was doing this, it was raining and even that time he pulled it off. So I have no doubt he’ll finish it.”

Vargas said the new piece was conceived as a follow-up to the massive mural of Ohtani he painted on the side of the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo soon after the former Angels pitcher signed with the Dodgers prior to the 2024 season. In two seasons with L.A., Ohtani has won two National League MVP awards and helped the Dodgers win two World Series championships.

The Dodgers signed Yamamoto during the same offseason and Sasaki a year later. Both pitchers played key roles in the team’s 2025 postseason run. Yamamoto went 7-1 with two complete games and pitched for the final out in Game 7 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Sasaki moved to the bullpen for the playoffs and recorded three saves and two holds.

“If [the Ohtani] mural was about ushering in a new era and a new face here in Los Angeles, this mural is about building a cultural bridge from Los Angeles to Japan and really emphasizing the greatness that these foreign-born Japanese players are contributing not only to the team, but to this community’s identity,” Vargas said. “And also inspiring to kids who can look up and see heroes that look like them from this community.”

Robert Vargas paints an image of Shohei Ohtani as part of the local artist’s ‘Samurai of the Diamond’ mural Saturday at the DoubleTree Hotel in Torrance.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Known for its large Japanese American population and concentration of Japanese businesses, Torrance signed friendship city agreements with Bizen (Yamamoto’s hometown) in August 2024 and Oshu (Ohtani’s hometown) in October 2024.

Vargas, who has a home in Japan because of the frequent mural work he does there, came up with the idea of a Torrance mural honoring the Dodgers’ Japanese stars around that time.

“I feel that they are examples of how to do things right on and off the field,” Vargas said of the three players. “Their work ethic is really reflected in the culture. That’s why Ohtani is so respected out there on the field, not just for what he’s doing with the bat or with the baseball but just how he conducts himself. It’s refreshing.”

His idea received support from local leaders, such as Mayor George Chen and city council member Jon Kaji.

“Ever since the Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani in December, 2023, the community has rallied around Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki giving us all a sense of pride,” Kaji said in an email to The Times. “…’Samurai of the Diamond’ exemplifies the unifying power of sports that transcends borders and nationalities.”

Chen wrote in a separate email: “There are many Dodgers fans in the City of Torrance and the greatness of these 3 players have been great role models to young and old. They are performing at the highest levels in MLB, yet they have shown us that even great athletes and celebrities can maintain a certain level of maturity, respectful to others, picking up trash, not retaliating when attacked, and always showing great sportsmanship.”

The wall will include an interactive feature: When visitors scan a QR code, they will see each player come to life and throw a strike, with animation provided by the AR Firm. Also, lights are being installed in the parking lot to illuminate the mural at night.

“It’s going to be a destination,” Vargas said.

DoubleTree general manager Linda Amato, who is also the executive chairperson of the Discover Torrance visitors bureau, said the hotel plans to create “opportunities for guests to gather outdoors, enjoying [Dodgers] games under the stars alongside the interactive mural.”

“The response from the community has been incredible,” Amato said in an email. “There’s a real sense of excitement — people are stopping by daily to watch the progress and engage with the project. It’s brought a new energy to the city. Robert Vargas has been amazing throughout the process, often speaking with visitors about his vision and techniques, which adds to the overall experience.”

Vargas hand-picked the DoubleTree Hotel in Torrance as the location for his latest mural, despite the wall’s deep ridges, which make it difficult to paint.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Vargas hand-picked the DoubleTree as the site, even though he said the hotel’s exterior “presents the most difficult surface challenge” he has faced. The wall is lined with thick, vertical grooves, described by Vargas as “almost like a lattice surface because the corrugation is so deep.”

Because of that, Vargas — who always works freehand and does not use spray paints — has to carefully paint each section with a brush, as even a roller will not work on that surface. He calls the process “very exciting.”

Actor Edward James Olmos, who was visiting Vargas at the site Thursday morning, thinks his longtime friend is nuts.

“That’s the worst f— texture I’ve seen in my life,” the 79-year-old “Stand and Deliver” actor said of the wall’s surface. “Not one artist I’ve ever known would even want to try to do this. He chose it. I told him he’s off his a—. Have you ever seen that texture before? Never.”

Vargas he said he’s not thinking about that or any other challenges when he’s several stories in the air working on a project he knows will mean a lot to many people.

“When I’m up there and I think about the community that’s down here and how excited they are to see an image like this — not only because of what the content is, but that it’s happening here in Torrance and not just in Little Tokyo — they feel very, very proud,” Vargas said. “So the wind conditions, the heat conditions, the scaling, all of that becomes secondary when you think about why you’re creating it.”

On Saturday afternoon, East Los Angeles resident Edgar Reyes came out to see the super-sized artwork being created in real time.

“It’s just amazing to be able to witness it and see how people are coming together,” said Reyes, who described himself as a “big Robert Vargas fan.” “I think for Torrance this is a good thing because you see a lot of murals in the east side of L.A. because there’s a lot of graffiti artists and all that, compared to over here. So it’s something really huge for Torrance, I believe.”

Koreatown resident Diego Guerrero, who also visited the site on Saturday, said it is “mesmerizing” to watch Vargas work and called the mural “mind-blowing.”

“It’s so huge,” Guerrero said. “You could see it from miles away. And it’s like, hey, I know them — they’re part of the Dodgers. But not just that. They’re part of the minority. They’re Japanese players, we’re Hispanics, but we’re the same. We want to feel like we’re represented and we’re here. The world will see us, you know?”

Robert Vargas plans to finish his ‘Samurai of the Diamond’ mural in time for its official unveiling Tuesday at 10 a.m.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Around midday Saturday, Vargas faced another delay when high winds caused him to temporarily come down from the wall. He had already made arrangements to be able to work through the night on Saturday and said he was prepared to work nonstop, if necessary, to be finished in time for the unveiling two days before the Dodgers’ season opener Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“I’m going to get it done,” he said.

“My time frames are pretty ambitious, but I also know what I’m capable of when it comes to my speed,” Vargas added. “And also I think that my process is really charged by my intention of why I’m creating these pieces, and that is what fuels me to completion.”