LOS ANGELES — Lauren Betts could hardly hold herself together as she walked over to UCLA women’s basketball assistant coach Shannon LeBeauf.
“She just had tears in her eyes,” head coach Cori Close told reporters. “She was so excited.”
The 6-foot-7 Bruins center was named an Associated Press and USBWA First Team All-American earlier that morning but didn’t find out until after practice had concluded. She’s the first UCLA women’s basketball player to receive the AP honor and joins Natalie Williams, a two-time selection in 1993-94, as the only Bruins to be USBWA first-teamers.
“To watch her improvement on the board is great,” Close said, “but to watch her have the courage to understand, yes, you’re one of the best players in the country – what’s helped her in that is that she’s realized that she’s so much more than that, and that has freed her up to be all that she can be as a basketball player.”
The accolades didn’t stop there. Point guard Kiki Rice earned a spot on the AP All-America Honorable Mention list and Close was named the USBWA Coach of the Year. The awards are dovetailing nicely with the Bruins’ refreshed confidence, coming at an opportune time after being announced as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
UCLA (30-2), which is set to host Southern in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 7 p.m. Friday, appears to have been on a high since avenging its losses to USC to win the Big Ten Conference Tournament.
“We had a really good week of practices and I feel like this team is really taking a step in the right direction in terms of how we’re leading ourselves,” Rice told reporters. “And just the energy that we’re bringing and our focus. That’s really good because we’re at the most important time of the year.”
UCLA and Southern will be meeting for the first time and are just building connections, but the Bruins have played HBCUs throughout Pac-12 history and Close coached against Florida A&M when she was an assistant at Florida State.
“I think it’s always great to understand people better from different backgrounds, different places, and I think it’s always better to look for opportunities to connect and lift others up,” Close said. “And if this is a small piece of that, great.”
Southern (21-14) won its first NCAA Tournament game in program history by beating UC San Diego 68-56 in the First Four on Wednesday. The tournament win was also a first for the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The Jaguars shot 49.0% and were led by 6-foot guard Soniyah Reed’s 24 points. Aniyah Gourdine, a 5-foot-9 guard, added 17 points and seven rebounds and the defense held UC San Diego to 34.4% shooting from the field. Southern also received 33 points from its bench players.
Southern has two 6-foot-4 centers – Xyllize Harrison and Tionna Lidge – who will look to match up with Betts in the post.
The Bruins have formed their offense and defense around Betts all season and the system seems to be clicking at the right time.
“Patience has always been my biggest thing,” Betts said. “When I’m catching it on the inside, there’s a few people running at me at a time, so it’s just making sure that I’m not rushing myself. But I think, also, the consistency for me has been the work that I’ve been putting in.”
Betts scored 17 points in the Big Ten Tournament championship game and Rice added 13 points and eight assists.
They’re also able to dish the ball to Londynn Jones or Timea Gardiner on the perimeter. Jones scored 13 points and made 3 of 4 3-pointers in the final.
UCLA has found benefits and joy in being a player-led team, and they’re keeping the positivity flowing this week.
Players jumped around Close at the end of practice Thursday, chanting “coach of the year” as a way of celebrating her USBWA award – just one celebration among many the Bruins are expecting this month.
NCAA TOURNAMENT
Who: No. 16 Southern (21-14) at No. 1 UCLA (30-2)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Pauley Pavilion
TV: ESPN
Radio: UCLA Digital Radio