Ucla Star Lauren Betts Rewards Fans Who Helped Change Her Life

Lauren Betts arrived astatine UCLA unsure she could proceed playing assemblage basketball.

After a turbulent freshman play astatine Stanford almost took her retired of nan crippled entirely, she joined rising stars Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice successful Westwood.

Betts blossomed successful 3 seasons arsenic a Bruin, but nary of her games were arsenic typical arsenic nan last 1 she played astatine Pauley Pavilion. During a second-round NCAA tourney triumph complete Oklahoma State connected Monday that astatine times was person than galore expected, Betts dropped a career-high 35 points and 9 rebounds to lead UCLA to nan Sweet 16.

“This community, nan infinitesimal that I transferred complete here, has conscionable welcomed maine pinch unfastened arms,” Betts said. “The fans person conscionable been truthful supportive of maine done my full journey, done my intelligence challenges, done conscionable basketball, everything. I consciousness for illustration I’ve grown truthful much, and they person really taken attraction of maine here.

“It’s not moreover astir hoops to maine astatine this point. Like nan people, for illustration Coach Cori [Close] said, that we’ve been capable to impact and conscionable nan quality that we’ve made, I deliberation has been huge. And truthful for me, like, conscionable to spot each nan group waving astatine america astatine nan extremity of nan crippled was really special.”

Betts wrote astir her travel to joyousness connected March 9 successful The Players Tribune, nan 2nd clip she has spoken aliases written successful item astir her conflict pinch slump and thoughts of taking her ain life. She has go good known for not being acrophobic to beryllium honorable astir her intelligence wellness challenges and being an advocator for those successful request of support. It has endeared her to nan UCLA organization that’s embraced her, on pinch her teammates.

She wrote that her transparency astir suicidal thoughts and an ensuing infirmary enactment midway done her sophomore season, first pinch her UCLA teammates, felt for illustration a merchandise from each nan worry and aforesaid uncertainty that hounded her arsenic she tried to unrecorded up to expectations astatine Stanford and UCLA.

“I want group to cognize that I’m doing better,” Betts wrote. “But I besides want to beryllium very realistic. My intelligence wellness isn’t perfect. It’s an ongoing project.”

UCLA halfway Lauren Betts, left, and teammate Charlisse Leger-Walker laughter together connected nan chair during Monday’s NCAA tourney crippled against Oklahoma State.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

Her teammates are successful awe of her efforts to beryllium nan champion personification she tin connected and disconnected nan floor.

“She makes everyone amended not conscionable because of nan hoops subordinate she is, but nan leader she is,” said Gianna Kneepkens, a postgraduate student who transferred from Utah to UCLA. “She challenges us, she pushes us, she conscionable wants what’s champion for nan team. When group are getting tripled, she’s not worried about, ‘Oh, like, tin I get nan points?’ She’s seeing who is unfastened truthful that we tin score. So I conscionable person had specified a awesome clip playing pinch Lauren and she’s 1 of nan biggest reasons I came here.”

During nan Oklahoma State win, UCLA led from ligament to wire. But nan Cowgirls outscored nan Bruins successful nan 2nd half and nan Bruins’ shooting fizzled retired during a tense 3rd quarter. Betts, however, didn’t falter.

Her 35 points came successful conscionable 34 minutes. She was 15 of 19 from nan section and astir reached a double-double pinch 9 rebounds.

Betts had agelong established herself arsenic 1 of nan champion players successful nan country, but she doesn’t lead nan federation successful scoring, successful part, because UCLA is simply a balanced squad pinch galore scoring options. Her capacity against Oklahoma State was a reminder that she is still nan Bruins’ astir formidable subordinate and remains nan bosom of nan program’s push to triumph a nationalist championship.

“That [scoring is] ever successful her bag,” Jaquez said. “Maybe immoderate nights she passes more, but that’s conscionable what makes her truthful special. She’s going to triumph 99% of her matchups.”

UCLA’s discourtesy runs done its prima halfway moreover pinch immoderate of nan champion shooters successful nan country. Their starting lineup spaces nan floor, pinch erstwhile Washington State starring scorer Charlisse Leger-Walker arsenic a 5th option.

“She puts a batch of unit connected herself a batch of nan clip and ever blames herself erstwhile she shouldn’t beryllium and nary 1 other is reasoning that way,” Leger-Walker said of Betts. “And I deliberation complete this past year, she’s really been moving connected trying to not do that truthful she tin beryllium nan champion she tin for this team. We evidently request her to beryllium confident, conscionable being capable to spot herself, because that is what is going to make our squad truthful overmuch better.”

UCLA halfway Lauren Betts shoots nan shot during nan Bruins’ NCAA tourney triumph complete Oklahoma State astatine Pauley Pavilion connected Monday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

There are games that often beryllium to personification else. Jaquez has turned successful large games this play and Rice was nan Big Ten tourney astir outstanding player. The Bruins person featured six different starring scorers crossed each games this season.

But it still ever comes backmost to Betts, who has been UCLA’s apical scorer a squad precocious 14 times.

“Lauren is 1 of those players that is ever truthful dominant,” Leger-Walker said aft nan triumph complete Oklahoma State. “I didn’t moreover cognize until she came retired that she had 30-something [points.] I was like, ‘Yeah, what nan heck?’ That’s conscionable her, you know, she’s a bucket. And she’s gonna ever beryllium ascendant successful that manner and she is conscionable specified an effect subordinate for this team.”

Betts’ 27 minutes, 17.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per crippled are somewhat down from past season. Her 3.2 assists per crippled are somewhat up. Her role, for illustration galore different UCLA players, has evolved to fresh nan star-studded lineup.

In nan aforesaid measurement Leger-Walker went from a three-point sniper to a constituent defender aliases Rice went from a supplier to a shooter and Jaquez from a hoop driver to a three-level scorer, Betts transformed from a post-up only scorer to nan conductor of nan Bruins’ agency successful nan mediate of nan floor.

“She anchors america connected some ends, down successful nan paint, particularly defensively,” Rice said. “Her expertise to move retired connected guards and play connected nan perimeter and thief america retired is really, really big. And evidently offensively, she’s specified a large violative player.”

If nan Bruins do triumph a nationalist title, it’ll beryllium connected nan backmost of their star. Sure, UCLA is simply a squad afloat of them, but Betts is still, arsenic Jaquez describes her, “that girl.”

For 1 past run, Betts tin beryllium that for a organization and squad wherever she’s recovered not conscionable acceptance, but existent celebration.

“I deliberation she’s recovered a really heavy purpose,” Close said. “And erstwhile you tin usage your symptom for awesome intent and different centeredness to person an unthinkable bequest successful nan lives of others, that’s an unthinkable gift. But it’s a gift that she’s worked really, really difficult for.”