Lauren Betts scores 31 to lead UCLA women past Mississippi and into the Elite Eight

SPOKANE, Wash. — When UCLA signed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in 2022, the program-changing prospects immediately flashed their potential by leading the Bruins to the Sweet 16. Opposing coaches were impressed, telling UCLA coach Cori Close that the freshmen would be so good “one day.”

Internally, Gabriela Jaquez squirmed each time she heard the praise.

“I’m just like, ‘I don’t care, I want to be good now,’” the UCLA junior guard said this week. “Why do we have to wait?”

The wait is over.

UCLA’s once-vaunted freshman class has come of age, arriving in the Elite Eight as juniors after leading the Bruins to a 76-62 win over No. 5 seed Mississippi in the Regional 1 semifinal Friday at Spokane Arena.

Goodbye Mississippi, hello LSU.

UCLA earned it second Elite Eight berth since 1999 and first since 2018 with a 76-62 victory over the Rebels in Spokane, Wash.

The Bruins, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, will square off against third-seeded LSU, which beat North Carolina State 80-73 in the other regional semifinal at Spokane Arena. It will be a rematch of a charged Sweet 16 matchup from last year that the Tigers won, 78-69.

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UCLA women falter at the finish in NCAA tournament loss to LSU

After holding a three-point lead with 2:46 left, the second-seeded Bruins, who had 19 turnovers, were outscored, outfought and outclassed from there.

March 30, 2024

Lauren Betts was electric with 31 points — her fourth career 30-point game, all this season — to go with 10 rebounds, three blocks and two assists.

Kiki Rice added 13 points and seven assists as UCLA (32-2) shot 60% from the field.

Tameiya Sadler had 14 points to lead the Rebels (22-10).

UCLA built a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter, its largest of the game, and held a 67-53 advantage with 4:38 to go in the contest.

Lauren Betts is up to 26 points and 10 rebounds to notch her 19th double-double of the season and 31st of her career. She is 13 of 14 from the floor.

The Bruins are shooting 61 percent from the field (28 of 46) and has never trailed in the game despite 16 turnovers.

UCLA is ever closer to that Sweet 16 breakthrough.

The Bruins rode the hot shooting of Lauren Betts to build a 55-44 lead through three quarters as UCLA outscored Mississippi 25-15 in the period.

Betts is up to 24 points on 12-of-13 shooting to go with eight rebounds and three blocks.

At stake in the fourth quarter: UCLA’s second Elite Eight berth since 1999 and first since 2018.

If it’s not broken, why fix it?

UCLA rode the shooting of Lauren Betts inside and Londynn Jones from beyond the three-point line to build a 47-33 lead with 4:49 to go in the third quarter.

Betts is up to 22 points on 11-of-12 shooting. She also has seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

UCLA scored the first eight points of the third quarter to build a 38-29 lead with 8:11 to go in the period and force a quick timeout by Mississippi.

Londynn Jones nailed a three-pointer, just the Bruins’ second of the game, to make it 33-29 before Kiki Rice scored five straight points, on a driving layup and a three-pointer.

Rice is up to seven points after that burst.

UCLA led the entire first half, but did not end the second quarter strong.

Mississippi closed the period on an 8-2 run, hitting its last three shots, to slice the Bruins’ advantage to 30-29 at halftime.

The Rebels shot 28.9 percent from the field (11 of 38) but stayed within striking distance and then drew closer on the strength of 12 offensive rebounds.

The Bruins got 16 points from Lauren Betts, who made her first eight shots from the field before missing one before the halftime buzzer. She will bear watching in the second half, but not just because of her offense.

She sat out for two minutes late in the second quarter and was shown on the broadcast expressing exhaustion to training staff who were attending to her on the bench. She did hit a layup after coming back in for the final 1:43 of the period.

“This is the Sweet 16, it’s a tough game,” Betts said at halftime during the broadcast. “We’re getting up and down, it’s really fast, keep it up.”

Mississippi has clawed back into the game, but UCLA has maintained a lead throughout, holding a 23-19 advantage with 4:59 to go in the first half.

A 7-0 run that started late in the first quarter put the Rebels back in the game, drawing Ole Miss within 19-17 early in the second period despite continued cold shooting from the floor.

Kiki Rice picked up her second foul with 7:48 to go in the first half and sat down, but Lauren Betts remained perfect from the field with another made shot underneath 30 seconds later.

The Rebels are shooting 23.3 percent from the field (7 of 30) while the Bruins have cooled slightly but are shooting 52.6 percent (10 of 19).

UCLA shot 62 percent from the field (8 of 13) to build a 19-12 advantage over Mississippi after one quarter of play. Ole Miss, meantime, shot 25 percent from the field (5 of 20).

Lauren Betts leads all scorers with 10 points and has made all five of her shots to go with four rebounds and one block.

UCLA has jumped out to an 11-5 lead with 3:17 left in the first quarter behind Lauren Betts, who hit her first two shots, and Kiki Rice, who opened the scoring with two free throws.

Angela Dugalic hit a three-pointer with 4:31 left in the period to help the Bruins build their current advantage.

They have tipped off in Spokane Arena as top-seeded UCLA takes on fifth-seeded Mississippi for a spot in the Elite Eight.

Winner faces third-seeded LSU, an 80-73 winner over second-seeded NC State, on Sunday afternoon.

Lineups:

INDIANAPOLIS — Holding her cellphone at an angle as she sat down in the interview room, championship hat atop her head, Lauren Betts smiled for the selfie alongside teammates Kiki Rice and Londynn Jones.

The picture captured more than a moment, seizing on the combined effort that was needed Sunday afternoon inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Gabriela Jaquez leapt out of her chair and whipped her fist through the air. Kiki Rice joined in, jumping up and down with her arms wrapped around Jaquez’s shoulders, wide smiles splitting their faces as they held phones in the air to record a moment that was equal parts joyful and historic.

UCLA earned its highest NCAA tournament position in school history Sunday, securing the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed.

Before examining the film to show what went wrong, UCLA starts every practice with everything that went right. Players hone in on their phone screens, each watching a personal three-minute highlight clip. The routine is as important to UCLA’s daily schedule as stretching and on-court practice.

“It’s not mind-hope or mind-maybe. It’s mindset,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “You have to set your mind on the right things.”

Southern’s Tionna Lidge barely jumped for the opening tip. With UCLA’s Lauren Betts on the other side, the result seemed inevitable.

Betts had 14 points and six rebounds Friday as No. 1-seeded UCLA cruised to an 84-46 win over No. 16 Southern in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA set a program record for the largest margin of victory in an NCAA tournament game, besting a 75-43 thrashing of Texas A&M in 2017.

All Nike-sponsored schools playing in the NCAA tournament wear different colors of the same warmup shirt. The now-ubiquitous long-sleeve white shirt has “Nothing Easy” printed on the front in bold letters. An emphatic period punctuates the sentence and each school’s logo is printed underneath.

What makes UCLA’s otherwise cookie-cutter postseason look stand out is on the back: “We” printed over a horizontal bar and “me.”

The crowd at Pauley Pavilion rose as one as the seconds ticked down. This second half deserved a standing ovation.

UCLA claimed an 84-67 win over No. 8-seed Richmond in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday, using an extended 23-2 run in the third quarter to blow open a close game and advance to a third consecutive Sweet 16. The tournament’s No. 1 overall seed will face No. 5 Mississippi in the Regional 1 semifinal in Spokane, Wash., on Friday. Mississippi upset No. 4 Baylor 69-63 in the second round.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Kiki Rice remembers the feeling. The bitter emotions she felt sitting on the training table in UCLA’s locker room in Albany, N.Y., while processing yet another Sweet 16 loss.

A year later the shock has worn off, but the disappointment has remained. UCLA’s star point guard wants to make her third trip to the NCAA regional semifinal the charm.