Lauren Betts carved through Michigan State’s defense like she was playing against air.
Twenty-two points on 10-of-14 shooting. Seven rebounds. Five assists. Two blocks. The 6-foot-7 center controlled both ends of the floor as No. 2 UCLA dismantled No. 13 Michigan State, 86-63, Wednesday night in East Lansing.
The Bruins have won 18 straight. They’re 24-1 overall and 14-0 in Big Ten play. With three games remaining in the regular season, the conference title is theirs to lose.
Betts’s Two-Way Dominance Makes Her Case for National Player of the Year
What separates Betts from every other post player in the country isn’t just her scoring touch or her size. It’s what she does on possessions where the ball never comes her way. She alters shots without fouling. She clogs driving lanes. She gobbles up defensive rebounds and triggers fast breaks with outlet passes that most centers can’t make.
Against Michigan State, UCLA held the Spartans to 31% shooting and outrebounded them, 48-28. That defensive suffocation starts with Betts, the reigning Naismith Defensive Player of the Year who is averaging 2.1 blocks and over eight rebounds per game this season while shooting 57% from the field.
Her stat line from Sunday’s 69-66 win over No. 8 Michigan was even more eye-popping: 16 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. It was one of her nine double-doubles on the season, and it came in one of the most hostile environments in the Big Ten.
The Wooden Award late midseason top 20 includes Betts alongside UConn’s Sarah Strong, Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, and Texas’s Madison Booker. Strong is considered the front-runner for national player of the year, but Betts is building a case that’s impossible to ignore. She’s the most complete player at the position in America, and UCLA’s dominance is directly tied to her presence.
Kiki Rice continues to thrive alongside Betts. The senior guard had 18 points, seven rebounds, and five assists against Michigan State, and she’s become the engine of UCLA’s half-court offense when defenses collapse on Betts in the post. Gabriela Jaquez added 13 points in the first half, while Gianna Kneepkens contributed 12 off the bench.
Collision Course With UConn Takes Shape
The Bruins’ only loss came on Nov. 26 against Texas. Since then, they’ve steamrolled everyone in their path. Ten wins over ranked opponents, including the Michigan State victory.
UCLA leads the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio, field goal percentage, defensive field goal percentage, and rebounding margin. The Bruins are second in the NET rankings with a nation-best 14 Quad 1 wins.
Across the country, UConn remains the lone unbeaten team in Division I. The Huskies are 26-0 with a 42-game winning streak, crushing opponents by an average of nearly 40 points per game. Strong and Azzi Fudd have formed one of the most dangerous duos in the sport, and Geno Auriemma’s defense has been suffocating.
UCLA and UConn met in last year’s Final Four. The Huskies won. Betts and Rice remember.
If both teams hold serve through March, a rematch feels inevitable. UConn has the depth and the firepower. UCLA has the size, the balance, and a center who can control a game without taking 20 shots. The contrasts in style would make for one of the best championship matchups in years.
UCLA hosts Indiana on Sunday. The Hoosiers are 14-12 and struggling through conference play. It won’t be a test. But the Big Ten tournament looms, and beyond that, a bracket that could pit Betts against Strong with everything on the line. The Bruins look ready for that fight.