PHOENIX — Following a hot start for UCLA in the national championship game against South Carolina, Bruins center Lauren Betts motioned to the bench that she needed a sub. She eventually checked out of the game at the 2:14 mark of the first quarter and was later seen on the bench coughing into a towel and motioning to her throat before taking a puff of an inhaler.
Fortunately for Bruins head coach Cori Close, she could sub out the 6’7 senior for her sister, 6’4 freshman Sienna Betts.
“I was obviously just really, really nervous,” Sienna told The IX Sports about her early entry into the game, which UCLA ultimately won 79-51. “But in those moments, there’s not really time to have nerves. You kind of just have to fight through that and just go out there and just do whatever the team needs.”
Getting on the court earlier than expected, Sienna could have easily folded under the pressure. Instead, she maintained the momentum, pulling down three key rebounds. UCLA’s lead grew from 6 to 12 points before Lauren checked back in early in the second quarter.
“I think [Sienna] understands the moment,” Lauren told reporters postgame. “This is the championship. … At this point, no one really cares how many points you score, what you do. She just wanted to go in and make an impact and help the team in any way she could. For her to get crucial rebounds, go up against really strong bigs, that’s huge as a freshman. Just really proud of her.”
Lauren and Sienna made a name for themselves in their hometown of Aurora, Colorado, claiming every Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year award since 2021. Lauren won it in 2021 and 2022 before heading off to college, and Sienna earned the honor from 2023 through 2025. In 2022, when Lauren was a high school senior and Sienna was a freshman, they won a 5A Colorado state championship together at Grandview High School.
When Lauren graduated, she chose to play for Stanford and then-head coach Tara VanDerveer. After one season, she transferred to UCLA, Sienna’s first-choice school. Sienna was a five-star recruit out of high school and made clear in a SLAM article that Lauren followed her plan, not the other way around.
Sienna wants to forge her own path outside of her sister’s legacy. She struggled this season at first as she adjusted to being a bench contributor on a team of veteran players. After Sunday’s title game, though, she shared that her perspective had shifted with time.
“As this year went [on], I became more grateful for this year because obviously no freshman who was where I was in high school expects to go into this position,” Sienna told The IX Sports. “But I wouldn’t be as prepared for next year without the year I had this year and playing the role that I did.”
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As Sienna suggested, the opportunity to be in a backup role was a good learning experience. It allowed her to ease into college without having to be the key contributor like she was in high school. She learned to embrace the moment and enjoy the experience of playing college basketball alongside her sister and the team’s other leaders.
“She is so hard on herself and she’s so driven [that] I think her humor is actually a saving grace for her,” head coach Cori Close told reporters following the Bruins’ second-round NCAA Tournament win over Oklahoma State. “It’s sort of a ‘breathe’ moment. It’s laughter. Because when she’s not smiling and bringing joy, she’s usually beating herself up for a mistake. As she continues to grow in that, I hope it doesn’t have to be her escape, but I just have absolutely enjoyed Sienna so much.”
As her freshman season came to an end, Sienna credited Close with teaching her to “trust the process.” And she values the lessons she’ll take into the rest of her collegiate career — a career that Lauren, now off to the WNBA, “can’t wait” to watch.
When asked to reflect on how Sunday’s game will prepare her for the future, the freshman was clear-eyed and concise in her reply: “It taught me what a winning mentality is, and it taught me what it takes.”
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Andrea Delaney of The IX Sports contributed reporting for this story.
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