Lauren Betts drops F-bomb on the sideline as UCLA bulldozes Ole Miss in the Sweet 16

The UCLA Bruins are moving on to the Elite Eight of the women’s March Madness tournament, dismissing the Ole Miss Rebels 76-62 in their Sweet Sixteen game on Friday. Their center Lauren Betts turned in another monster game, putting up 31 points on 15/16 shooting from the field along with 10 rebounds, two assists and three blocks.

That performance gets Betts onto elite company as she’s only the third player to have multiple games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in the same tournament for the past 25 seasons.

The heavy minutes and all the physicality down low might be taking their toll on the 6-foot-7 center, as she was seen on the sideline talking to a trainer looking for major relief.

“I can’t breathe. I’m so f****g tired,” Betts said.

Betts has been playing heavily in this tournament, playing 26 and 32 minutes against the Southern Jaguars and the Richmond Spiders respectively, even though both games were blowouts by the third quarter.

Kiki Rice was the only other Bruin who scored in double figures, adding 13 points and 7 assists. Londynn Jones and Janiah Barker added 9 and 8 points, respectively. Tameiya Sadler led the way for the Rebels with 14 points while Kennedy Todd-Williams and KK Deans added 13 apiece. The Rebels were gunning for their first Elite Eight appearance since 2007.

Rice is the onlyconsistent scorer Bruins coach Cori Close has on her disposal, so she is in a bind trying to manage Betts’ minutes while making sure the team’s performance doesn’t drop off a cliff. Betts is averaging 30 minutes per game this season and she has played 30 minutes or more in 17 of the 31 games she’s played this season, which can’t bode well for their championship chances.

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Looking ahead to UCLA’s Elite Eight matchup with LSU

"No rest for the weary" is the mood right now for the Bruins, who only get a day off before their Elite Eight matchup against the LSU Tigers. This will be a rematch of their last year’s Sweet Sixteen matchup, which the Tigers won 78-69 so the Bruins will have revenge on their minds for this one.

Cori Close will need one or two of Londynn Jones, Gabriela Jaquez or Janiah Barker to step up offensively if Betts is truly getting gassed. LSU’s post duo Aneesah Morrow and Sa’Myah Smith will probably take turns or maybe even double Betts on this game.

The Tigers are coming off a battle on their Sweet Sixteen matchup as well, needing a furious fourth-quarter run to get past the NC State Wolfpack. Morrow led the way with 30 points and 19 rebounds while Smith added 21 points and 11 rebounds.

The Elite Eight game between the LSU Tigers and the UCLA Bruins will be played at the Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington on Sunday at 3 PM ET. The game will be broadcast on ABC.