There have been few surprises with the UCLA women’s basketball team this season.
The senior-laden squad, guided by coach Cori Close in her 15th season, has the look of a team destined for another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
But two days before the Bruins host Riverside’s California Baptist in a first-round game at Pauley Pavilion, All-American center Lauren Betts revealed her struggles with mental health in a story for The Players’ Tribune.
In the piece published Thursday, Betts described the difficulties of growing up, leaving Stanford and transferring to Westwood, where in her first season as a sophomore in early 2024 she checked herself into UCLA’s hospital to address her depression.
“I think it was a good opportunity for me to show the growth that I’ve had in the past few years,” Betts said at a Friday press conference. “I think the last one that came out was during my junior year when I was kind of in my transition and I think the point where I’m at now, I’ve healed so much since my sophomore year.
“So, I don’t know, I think it was just an amazing opportunity for me to continue to speak on what I stand for and why I play basketball and why I think for me this is so much bigger than myself. I think the people I have been able to impact really means a lot to me and that’s why I wanted to do it.”
Close was central in convincing Betts to come to UCLA after a challenging freshman season in Palo Alto and has been at the forefront of Betts becoming a dominant inside presence for the Bruins
On Friday, she spoke of her admiration and love for the 6-foot-7 senior, in addition to her surprise that Betts decided to make her story public.
“I could not imagine when I was that age, have that kind of courage and having experienced some of those things alongside her and with her, to see even just being over there and watching her answer the question about why she did that, I think spoke to her growth,” Close said. “For her to … we always say you never outperform your self-image, but in this case, to your question, it’s incredible to watch how she’s grown and healed in miraculous ways. I couldn’t be any prouder.
“I didn’t see it and I walked into Pam Walker, our director of basketball operations, her office and she just had these big tears and I said, ‘What’s wrong?’ She goes, ‘Have you read the article?’ She goes, ‘I am just so proud of Lauren.’ And I text her and just said I could not be more impressed and inspired by your courageous vulnerability.”
The Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year will look to impress even more this postseason. Her 16.4 points per game lead four Bruins who average double figures in scoring and she’s also tops on the team with 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.
A Final Four team last season, UCLA (31-1) enters as the second-ranked team in the country and a No. 1 seed, having won 25 consecutive games since a 76-64 loss to Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas. The Longhorns are the other No. 1 seed on the Bruins’ side of the bracket, so a rematch is plausible.
The Bruins haven’t played since March 8 when they routed Iowa by 41 points for the Big Ten Conference title. Bruins point guard Kiki Rice said the respite has been welcome, but she and her teammates are locked in on Saturday’s game with California Baptist. The 16th-seeded Lancers (23-10) won the Western Athletic Conference Tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years.
“It’s been a long season so we’ve been able to take advantage of the time that we’ve had off to rest our bodies. That’s obviously really important, but continuing that intensity and quality preparation and practice allows us to be ready for the game, to be ready to step on the court and we’ll be prepared for that, obviously,” said Rice, who averages 15.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.
“Having not played a game in a while, it’s not an excuse to not come out ready, so we just got to hold that standard, prepare and practice like we would any other time and we’ll be ready to play.”
NCAA Tournament
Who: No. 1 seed UCLA (31-1) vs. No. 16 seed California Baptist (23-10)
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Pauley Pavilion
TV: ESPN