Lauren Betts is putting up 16 points and 10 rebounds on any given night. Sienna, her sister? Some nights she’s great, and other nights she hardly moves from the bench. The Betts sisters should be a perfect match for UCLA, but this season they have gone in very different directions.

Lauren plays like a pro. Sienna has a hard time, like a typical freshman.

After No. 3 UCLA beat Purdue 96-48 on Wednesday, Lauren Betts talked to the press about her sister’s early-season problems.

“I think that’s just part of freshman year, just trying to feel out the style of play in college. It’s very different from high school, so she’s not going to get all the same looks that she would get in high school, and she can’t do all the same moves that she used to do all the time,” Betts explained.

“So just trying to give her confidence all the time and just know that all the hard work she’s putting in every single day is paying off. Just because she had a little setback at the beginning of the season doesn’t mean she’s less of a basketball player.”

Lauren is extremely familiar with what she’s talking about.

The senior has been the best player all season, and her eighth double-double against Purdue included 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and three steals. But Sienna’s reality is different.

She scored six points through a 33.3 percent shooting performance on Wednesday and nine points through a perfect shooting performance against Maryland three days earlier and two points during seven minutes of play against Minnesota. One game she plays at her best level, while in the next game she has minimal playing time.

The experience of being a Division I freshman creates a rollercoaster journey that assesses both basketball abilities and mental resilience.

Lauren Betts explained her sister’s development and the championship-level structure of UCLA and how her presence restricts chances for other players.

“I think it’s just really hard for other teams to guard us when they’re so focused on double-teams, triple-teams [on Betts] when we have such threats on the perimeter,” Betts noted. “It’s just really tough to guard them, and I’m glad they’re all on my team.”

Lauren’s claim that UCLA’s offense is deep and flexible is backed up by the Bruins’ strong play against Purdue.

The team had 24 assists and shot 59% from three-point range. Five starters scored in double figures. Senior guards Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker each scored 14 and 15 points, showing how perimeter threats can draw defenders away from the paint.

UCLA’s Cori Close refuses to celebrate after Purdue blowout

UCLA’s offense was on full display against Purdue, but head coach Cori Close wasn’t ready to give out praise just yet.

Instead, she spent the rest of the game pointing out mistakes. Even on a night to honor John Wooden’s legacy, she made it clear that sloppy basketball isn’t okay just because you win by a lot. What does she really care about?

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Defense, especially what happened in the third quarter when Purdue scored 18 points, their best score of the game.

“We cannot have a lack of discipline. Period,” Close said about that stretch. “I need to be able to count on this group to do your job, and you saw that in the third quarter. It was a lackadaisical sort of, we were behind every play. It’s very difficult. If it was easy, a lot of teams would do it.”

If her team loses focus for even one quarter, winning by 48 means nothing. For this top-notch UCLA team, every possession has to be great, no matter who is on the other bench.