LOS ANGELES — Tuesday night was one to picture, frame, and remember in the Betts household.
Lauren Betts almost single-handedly took down Cal Poly in a 115-28 shellacking at the hands of No. 4 UCLA at Pauley Pavilion, the senior center recording 20 points and 10 rebounds, one of five Bruins to score in double figures. UCLA was the clear favorite Tuesday – loud 64½-point favorites, in fact – but the memory to savor arrived with 4:14 remaining in the first quarter.
The long wait was over. Freshman forward Sienna Betts – the No. 2 recruit in the class of 2025 according to ESPN’s 2025 SportsCenter NEXT 100 – checked in alongside her older sister to make her college debut. Sienna Betts and Lauren Betts; three years apart, but now together on the Nell and John Wooden Court, becoming the first siblings to play at the same time for the Bruins since Rebekah Gardner and Rhema Gardner from 2010-2012.
Drawing a double-team in the post, Sienna Betts, returning from a lower-left leg injury, found Lauren Betts on the opposite side of the key, where the reigning Naismith Defensive Player of the Year deposited the ball into the basket with 6:23 left in the second quarter to give UCLA a 38-16 lead. The moment, ironic given how often the elder sister is double- or triple-teamed in the paint, marked Sienna Betts’ first assist and became the second converted shot of a 27-0 run to bring the Bruins to a 44-point halftime lead.
When it came to Sienna Betts’ first points, sinking one of two free throws (UCLA’s 39th point), it was Lauren Betts who fed her the ball before drawing contact. Sienna Betts finished with five points and two assists across 10 minutes, her first-career basket coming on a fadeaway mid-range look to give the Bruins (10-1 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) an 80-point lead (101-21) in the fourth quarter.
“I know who Sienna Betts is, and I know how good she’s going to be,” UCLA coach Cori Close said to the crowd at halftime.
Close added that she wanted Sienna Betts to give herself some grace as the transition from high school to injured and now playing continues in the games ahead.
The wait was worth it for Lauren Betts and Sienna Betts, as an early moment said it all.
When senior guard Gabriela Jaquez earned a trip to the free-throw line with 4:04 in the first quarter, the siblings were lined up across from each other. They chatted – what was said between the sisters was unknown – but Sienna Betts and Lauren Betts shared smirks as Jaquez let her shots fly.
Dec. 16, a day on which UCLA won by its largest point differential (87) since December 1976, would be a day they could always look back on.
BY THE NUMBERS
After trailing 25-13 after one quarter, Cal Poly (2-8, 0-2 Big West) was outscored 35-3, 31-5 and 24-7 in the final three quarters.
More to come on this story.
