Cori Close has a trump card at her disposal, and it is none other than Lauren Betts. Following the 86-63 blowout win over Michigan State, the Bruins’ head coach shed light on a side of Betts beyond her role as a center. With the program aiming for the March Madness ceiling this season, Close handed another responsibility to Betts and set her up as an example for the rest of the team.

“I actually just challenged them this morning like everybody’s got to find ways to give, and add value,” Close said during the post-game press conference. “And Lauren, she’s a total balcony person, like those people who are hanging over your life, going, ‘you got this, you got this,’ and Lauren is a spectacular balcony person for her teammates, especially for her sister, and I really enjoy that she celebrates other people’s success on a very consistent basis. That’s not just something you saw today; that has been very consistent.”

Betts’ support for her teammates isn’t a newly found element but an example she always seeks to set through her nuances, like celebrating the wins on the court together or engaging in fun sessions at practice. Be it her sister Sienna or any of her counterparts like Angela Dugalic, the Bruins senior always roots for them whenever she’s not on the court. And when the cheers come from a player of Betts’ stature, it matters to all players on the roster and helps build a sustainable culture in the program. That is something that Close would be banking on during the upcoming games.

While culture is an essential part of it, Betts and co. might face a hurdle that needs to be addressed immediately. Close’s team committed a ridiculously high number of turnovers (18) in the Spartans’ game, and the head coach was quick to highlight it in the press conference, hinting that she will need to be a bit more aggressive with her players to solve the problem.

“I really hardly ever swear, but um I just said I just got to chew your you know whats um about this because I really trust their work ethic,” Close said. “we haven’t been able to turn it consistently in that area specifically in taking care of the ball and um and and I think that it tells me that um that area they haven’t had the maturity to change it.”

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

Close’s assessment was direct. She quietly agreed that her team struggled with ball security, which helped the Spartans with 19 points. Betts was efficient with just a single turnover in her 25 minutes, but Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice combined for nine alone in the game. As a senior player, the responsibility to dictate cleaner play on the court might again fall on Lauren Betts.

Lauren Betts and Co. Have the Room to Improve in Their Upcoming Games

For Cori Close and the UCLA Bruins, the game was a major wake-up call, roughly a month before the National Championships. They would have to work on this flaw in the remaining four-game stretch, which is pretty soft, given the Bruins’ form and momentum this season. Unranked Indiana is next for them on Sunday, followed by a game against No. 25 Washington on Saturday.

While Washington can be a bit tricky, given the Huskies’ decent 18-7 record this season, the subsequent two games against Wisconsin and USC need nothing fancy from the Bruins to win. These are the games that Close and Betts will target to capitalize on and improve their ball security ahead of March Madness. It will give the team an idea of whether the issue was systemic or a one-off.

For context, excessive turnovers in a game has been an issue that Lauren Betts and her team have been facing recently. Overall, this season, the team has been quite formidable with ball security, still ranking 25th with an average of 13 turnovers per game. But with the National Championships, no problem can be considered a fluke for Betts and Co.

And to go deeper at the Big Dance next month, tighter ball security, flawless defense won’t be optional for Betts and her teammates. Thus, while the Michigan Spartans game gave the team a major ranked win, it highlighted that the Bruins are still far from perfect.