Lauren Betts explains how UCLA plans to beat Geno Auriemma's UConn in Final Four: "Don't fall asleep on any plays"

UCLA center Lauren Betts and the Bruins face the toughest task of their careers, as they face 11-time national champions UConn, which is led by the winningest Division I coach of all time, Geno Auriemma.

The 6-foot-7 junior, on ESPN SportsCenter on Wednesday, shared her thoughts on UCLA's upcoming clash with Paige Bueckers and the No. 2 seed Huskies, who outplayed the Bruins' bitter rivals USC Trojans 78-64 in the Elite Eight.

The center said that the Bruins need to follow what's on the scouting report and defend well against UConn. They also plan to be the aggressors in their Final Four clash.

"I think for us just like mentally locking into our scouting and defensively. Just not playing timid and making sure that we're being the aggressors and we don't fall asleep on any plays," Betts said (1:13) "Because we just don't have time for that in a game like UConn."

Lauren Betts pointed out the Huskies are well-coached and that the Bruins are going to do everything to beat the 11-time national champions and continue making history this season.

"They're full of talent," Betts said (0:45). No doubt UConn's an amazing team (and an) amazing program and they're very well coached. We're going to do everything in our power to show up as prepared as possible and to make sure that we know what we're doing."

The 2025 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year awardee expressed excitement about playing on this stage but is focused on one goal: to beat a formidable team like the Huskies and move forward to the national championship game.

---

Lauren Betts has played superbly in UCLA's March Madness campaign

UCLA's Lauren Betts has been more than the basic stats would describe her this season, towering over the opposition in the first four rounds of the 2025 March Madness and leading the team to a historic Final Four appearance.

The 6-foot-7 center stepped up for the Bruins in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 23.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.5 blocks per game in 28.5 minutes. She has made 75% of her shots and been a mismatch problem, especially against Richmond and Ole Miss, where she made a combined 29-of-33 shots from the field.

She may have a tougher challenge awaiting her in UConn, as the Huskies could deploy center Jana El-Alfy as their primary defender with freshman forward Sarah Strong helping out.

The Bruins may need to have a kickout option once Lauren Betts gets double-teamed in the post. The slotman has proven to be a great passer this season and should have no issues passing the ball to her open teammates when the need arises.