It was like both teams forgot to shoot. UCLA and Texas entered the fourth quarter with the score reading 31-28 to the Bruins. It was an immensely physical game as both sides defended like it was the last game of their lives. Ultimately, it was the Bruins who persevered to a 51-44 victory, setting up a championship clash with South Carolina. After the game, Lauren Betts sent a direct message of their Championship intentions. 

UCLA has now won 30 straight games. Their last loss? It came against Texas on November 26. Now, they have beaten the same team to reach the title game for the first time in program history, in the NCAA era. The Bruins did win the AIAW Large College championship back in 1978. However, they are not just here to get their participation awards for the title game and Lauren Betts made that very clear. 

“Love these girls. One thing about us is that we’re always going to work together. We just earned another day with each other and we’re so happy,” Betts told Holly Rowe in a courtside interview. “I love these girls. We’re trying to go 1-0. We’re here to win. I’m just so proud of everybody. This group is amazing.”

However, in the postgame, she maintained that they are allowed to celebrate this and then “lock in” tomorrow. Lauren Betts shone brightly for the Bruins. On the offensive end, she led all the scorers with 16 points and 3 assists while going 7 of 10 from the field. However, she made a significant impact on the defensive end, limiting Madison Booker to just 6 points and 3/23 from the field. 

Betts contributed 11 rebounds and 3 blocks, including that clutch block in the final seconds. Booker was driving to the rim with the scoreline reading 44-47 for UCLA and 22 seconds to go. Betts blocked Booker out, essentially winning the game there. “My instincts, just playing defense, just protecting the basket. It’s just what I do, helping my team out,” Betts said on her game winning block.

Booker said after the game that UCLA’s size “bothered her.” And the same will be true for South Carolina. “We’ll probably be the underdogs in the next game,” Dawn Staley said on facing UCLA. “Same approach, once you get to this point in the season, you’re going to do whatever is necessary in order for us to win, continue to believe, continue to lock in, continue to execute.”

The Gamecocks defeated the unbeaten UConn, which gives them some momentum. But the Bruins are up there too. They held a Texas side that scored 85 points a game to just 44 points. UCLA is now the top-rated offense and the third-rated defense, according to Barttorvik, while South Carolina is fourth in both departments. But on game day, the team that shows up will win the trophy. But for UCLA to do that, they need Lauren Betts fit and healthy. Fortunately, the mid-game clash with Booker has not caused any serious injury. 

Lauren Betts Reveals First Reaction After Madison Booker Clash

Lauren Betts had a major injury scare. The Bruins were leading 22-19 in the third quarter when Madison Booker and Betts tangled on a rebound attempt with 7:19 remaining. Betts hit her head on the court when she fell, while Booker clutched her left knee.

Betts remained down on the ground for several minutes while gripping the back of her head. Fortunately, after a minute or two she got up on her own and told her teammates, “I’m ok.” Yet, she made her way to the Bruins’ bench as the play was reviewed for a possible flagrant, which wasn’t eventually upgraded. After the game, she acknowledged that the foul “hurt,” but Betts was determined to stay on the court. 

“Yeah, I’m not going to lie,” Betts said. “It hurt. It hurt pretty bad. But when you’re in a situation, you’re playing in the Final Four, your season’s on the line, you got to get over it and you just got to keep playing. There was no way I was coming out of the game, so I just sucked it up.”

That’s the tenacity that got UCLA over the line. Nobody had their best day but they slogged through every moment to be one step ahead of the Longhorns. “I thought there were ups and downs, but I thought we stayed connected, and I thought we were pretty darn tough on the defensive end so that we could weather the storms on the offensive end,” Cori Close said. If they manage to defeat South Carolina, UCLA can become the first Big Ten tournament champion to claim the conference’s first title of this century.