Lauren Betts Stats: How did the UCLA star fare against rival USC (March 1st)

It's been an amazing season for Lauren Betts and the UCLA Bruins. Undefeated and ranked No. 1 for much of the season, the Bruins seemed invincible, until they found their hoops kryptonite. USC defeated the Bruins twice in the final month of the season and has now grabbed the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament. How did the game go for Betts? Not as well as she would have probably liked.

In her second year at UCLA after starting her college career at Stanford, the 6-foot-7 Betts has continued the improvement that was evident last season. However, that doesn't mean she isn't yet subject to the occasional less-than-stellar game.

Lauren Betts' stats against USC

In 32 minutes of playing time against USC, Lauren Betts finished with 11 points. She made just 5 of 11 shots from the floor and 1 of 4 from the free-throw line and was well below her usual percentage rates from both levels.

Betts did grab 11 rebounds, with six of them at the offensive end of the floor. She had a single assist against five turnovers, which was also unusual for her. It's only the third time this season that Betts had that many turnovers. She blocked two shots and also had a foul.

Lauren Betts' plus/minus stat ended up at -9. As UCLA lost by 13, that means the Bruins were -9 during Betts' 32 minutes on the floor and -4 during her eight minutes on the bench.

On the year, Betts is averaging 19.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, which is second-best and third-best in the Big Ten respectively. She connects on just over 62% of her shots and averages 2.7 assists and 2.8 blocked shots per game. Betts is the Big Ten's top shot blocker and her 73 blocks rank fifth nationally.

This all represents an impressive improvement from Lauren Betts. As a freshman at Stanford, she played entirely off the bench and averaged 5.9 points per game. She became a starter in 2023-24 at UCLA and averaged 14.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. With another season ahead, Betts could well end up nearing 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds

UCLA's season

The Bruins opened the season 23-0. Not only hadn't UCLA lost, but they hadn't been challenged as their closest game was a seven-point win over Louisville in the season opener. But UCLA is now 4-2 in the last six games of the regular season. That included not only the two losses to USC but also a two-point win over Iowa and a six-point win over Michigan State.