The rest of the Big Ten will breathe a sigh of relief when Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens, Angela Dugalic, and Charlisse Leger-Walker finally leave for the WNBA. UCLA fans will feel quite the opposite. The Bruins will lose their six most productive players in one swift, brutal sweep.
The Big Ten Tournament championship inspired a lot of hope for the future, though. Cori Close further proved that she could coach an utterly dominant team, and Sienna Betts played the best game of her freshman season.
With another star already waiting for her opportunity to step into the spotlight and a coach who can lead a winning team, UCLA fans should be confident that the program can attract impactful players in the transfer portal and retool around the younger Betts sister.
Sienna Betts put together a breakout performance
Betts left high school as the No.2 player in the 2025 class. Her production in her freshman year at UCLA didn’t necessarily reflect that, but there are good reasons for that: Betts lost some time to an injury, and she joined a senior-heavy team with its eyes set on a national championship. That vastly limited her opportunities.
Nevertheless, Betts wasn’t taken aback by the bright lights of the Big Ten Tournament championship. She finished with 14 points on 7-8 shooting, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 block. It was by far her best game against a ranked opponent.
Betts set the tone for her breakout game early, scoring eight points in the first quarter. First, she got an open layup on a cut. Next, she muscled her way to the basket against Iowa’s Ava Heiden. Shortly after, Betts got the ball around the free-throw line and spun her way to the basket through two defenders. Last but not least, she closed out the quarter with a long two-point jumper off the dribble after Iowa left her completely open at the 3-point line.
Betts outscored and outrebounded her older sister, who finished the game with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. Only Kneepkens and Rice scored more than Betts and Dugalic matched her game-high seven rebounds.
Sienna Betts has a bright future
Betts is only 19 and a freshman. This is the worst she’ll ever be—scary words for the rest of the Big Ten and a blessing for UCLA. Betts will only continue to get better and as she establishes herself as one of the best young bigs in the game, other top players will want to come and play with her at UCLA. That is the Bruins’ pathway to staying relevant in the Big Ten after losing this group of seniors.
Plenty of other teams are waiting to topple UCLA. USC will get JuJu Watkins back, Jaloni Cambridge is killing it for Ohio State, and Michigan and Iowa both have intriguing young cores.