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UCLA center Lauren Betts, right, tries to shoot in front of Southern forward Sky Castro during the Bruins' victory in the first round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament Friday at Pauley Pavilion. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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 a 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.
The Bruins (31-2) advanced to host No. 8 seed Richmond in the second round of Spokane Region 1 on Sunday. The Spiders (28-6) won their first NCAA tournament game in program history by dominating No. 9 Georgia Tech 74-49 behind 30 points, 15 rebounds and six assists from forward Maggie Doogan.
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The Bruins warmed up in new Jordan-branded shirts with “Nothing Easy” printed on the front. “We” was printed on the back on top of a horizontal bar and the word “me.” The symbol of selflessness was apt for a team that led the Big Ten with 20.6 assists per game.
UCLA had 23 assists on 26 successful shots from the field, overwhelming the Jaguars with their depth and size. Guard Kiki Rice led the Bruins with seven assists and had 10 points. Against Southern’s starting lineup that had only one player taller than 5-foot-10, Betts spent most of her time in the low post with an arm raised demanding the ball against a favorable matchup.
Since the game-changing transfer came to Westwood, the Bruins have completely shifted their style of play. Before Betts, they were beginning to embrace a five-out, motion offense common among international and NBA teams. They spent the previous two offseasons relentlessly drilling post entry passes. Coaches would not allow more than a few possessions in a row without the ball touching Betts’ hands in the paint.
The focus on Betts almost immediately turned the Bruins into a national championship contender.
“She’s a little cheat code,” forward Janiah Barker said this week.
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Barker, the Big Ten sixth player of the year, had two of her three first-half assists to Betts and finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
The Bruins turned the ball over seven times during the second quarter, allowing Southern to cut into UCLA’s 20-point lead. Crowded by a double team, Betts was called for a travel and Southern guard Taniya Lawson converted the turnover into a pull-up jumper on the next possession to move the Jaguars to within 12 points. A small but boisterous Southern cheering section behind the team’s bench waved blue and gold pom poms and a decorative umbrella.
Betts quickly quieted them, fighting through a double team on the next possession and finishing through contact to end Southern’s eight-point scoring streak.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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