Can UConn women's basketball contain UCLA's 6-7 center Lauren Betts? 'She's a great player'

Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media

TAMPA, Fla. — Sarah Strong called it a big challenge.

When discussing UCLA’s Lauren Betts, the UConn women’s basketball team’s freshman forward isn’t kidding.

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The Bruins’ 6-foot-7 junior center is a consensus first-team All-American and the national Defensive Player of the Year. And now she stands tall and in the way of the Huskies’ run to a 12th national championship. UConn takes on UCLA in the second NCAA Final Four semifinal game Friday at Amalie Arena.

“She’s very tall and a shot blocker,” Strong said Thursday. “She’s aggressive, she knows how to get to her spots really well. She does a great job of doing that. We have to be aggressive with her, be there with help, box her out.

“We all see it as a challenge and we enjoy being challenged.”

UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) practices before UCLA’s Final Four matchup against UConn in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Thursday, April 3, 2025.

Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media

Betts enters UCLA’s first Final Four averaging 20.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 3.0 blocked shots. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Spokane 1 Regional after leading the Bruins (34-2) to wins over Ole Miss and LSU.

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She was the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2022 and transferred to UCLA after spending her freshman year at Stanford.

“Lauren’s improved so much over these past few years,” said UCLA guard Kiki Rice, the No. 2 recruit in the Class of 2022. “I think for all of us being able to see that first hand every day in practice, and she put in so much work in the spring and offseason this summer. That’s where her game just really improved so much.

“From the first day in summer workouts and preseason, I could tell what a different player she was and the different confidence she had about her. We all knew the entire time the incredible player she was. But I think a lot of it was about her realizing that. And just being able to play with her and help alongside in that journey has been an incredible honor. She’s obviously unstoppable on the court.”

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Betts had 13 points and seven rebounds in UCLA’s 78-67 win over UConn in the Cayman Islands Classic on Nov. 24, 2023. Her presence inside allowed Bruins’ guards Rice and Charisma Osborne go off and combine for 42 points. UCLA also went 12-for-25 from behind the 3-point line.

Expect to see an even better version of the Colorado native Friday night.

“I think it’s just me finally realizing the player I am,” Betts said. “A lot of it has to do with not just the basketball side but the mental work that I’ve done this past season. Just talking to Coach Shannon (UCLA assistant LeBeauf), having those conversations about taking away all the pressure when I’m on the floor and just playing for my teammates and understanding the moment and what I have to do, I think that’s just made me the player that I am.

“I also have to give a lot of credit to this program and the amount of confidence that they’ve given me and all the love that they’ve showed me the past couple years. I’m super grateful to be at UCLA.”

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UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) practices before UCLA’s Final Four matchup against UConn in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Thursday, April 3, 2025.

Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media

UCLA is two wins away from its first NCAA title. Its only losses came in the regular season to crosstown rival USC. The Bruins got some revenge against the Trojans by winning the Big Ten Tournament crown with a win over them in the final.

Redshirt freshman center Jana El Alfy will start off against Betts. Then UConn coach Geno Auriemma will have to decide whether to go with his other post player, Ice Brady, off the bench or go with his small lineup with Strong being the tallest defender at 6-foot-1.

Auriemma recalled the tournaments from 1994-97 when he had the 6-7 center in Kara Wolters.

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“We came here with Kara and thought that it’s impossible us to lose,” Auriemma said. “When you’ve got a weapon like that you have something that no one else has. It doesn’t matter what is going on the offensive end. When it all breaks down and you need a bucket bad, you’ve got something no one else has and that’s what they have. That poses the biggest problem.

“At the other end (defensively) it’s an issue, but not as big an issue as how easily they can get a bucket when they need one.”

UConn center Jana El Alfy (8) shoots a jumper during practice before UConn’s Final Four matchup against UCLA in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Thursday, April 3, 2025.

Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media

And UCLA will try to do that — early and often.

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“We have to figure out how we can play through the paint, and not just with Lauren Betts,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “That’s how we’re built, and then shoot our threes after paint touches and not fall in love with them too much.”

So while UConn faces a big challenge in facing Betts, the Huskies believe they’re up for it.

The UConn-UCLA winner takes on the winner of Friday’s first semifinal, either South Carolina or Texas, for the national championship Sunday.

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“She’s a great player,” El Alfy said. “I’m excited to play against her. I can’t wait to play the game.”

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Can UConn women’s basketball contain UCLA’s 6-7 center Lauren Betts? ‘She’s a great player’

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