Lauren Betts, UCLA roll past Oklahoma State into NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16

LOS ANGELES — The celebration started in the final minute when senior Lauren Betts capped the final home game of her collegiate career, scoring a layup to secure a career-high 35 points. It continued when UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close called a timeout to remove Betts, ensuring that she would receive an ovation from the appreciative Pauley Pavilion crowd. The night concluded with tears from Betts, Close and the rest of UCLA’s seniors as they waltzed around the baseline, waving to the fans, carrying out that indelible tradition one final time.

Amid the competition of March Madness, the top-seeded Bruins, specifically their six core seniors, soaked in the atmosphere of their home arena one last time on Monday night. But those heartfelt emotions didn’t seep into the Bruins’ play.

“We knew it was going to be really special for those six seniors to have that moment,” Close said. “But that being said, this is a very focused team, and we understand what’s at stake.”

UCLA balanced the significance of the night with the task at hand, controlling its NCAA Tournament second-round game against ninth-seeded Oklahoma State from tip to finish for an 87-68 win, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth straight season.

Two wins away from a return trip to the Final Four, the Bruins (33-1) will face fourth-seeded Minnesota (24-10) in a matchup of Big Ten opponents on Friday at 4:30 p.m. PT in Sacramento.

When a team can separate its feelings from its business, it creates organic greatness such as was felt throughout Monday’s game, throughout Betts’ performances. She led the way with her 35 points, shooting 15 for 19 from the field, then humbly passed praise to her teammates.

“My teammates did a really good job of finding me today,” Betts said. “I mean, some of those passes were absolutely insane – like the trust that they have to throw that out there and just know that I’m going to catch it.”

Betts scored two layups to help the Bruins build an early lead. She extended her range, knocking down a pair of jump shots in the second quarter. She displayed the whole arsenal, taking advantage of Oklahoma State’s lack of size to control the boards, and finding her teammates.

She plucked an offensive rebound out of teammate Gabriela Jaquez’s hands and converted the putback. She dished passes to Lena Bilic, who came off the bench to hit two 3-point shots. She blocked a shot, and deflected another to help UCLA build momentum after Oklahoma State (24-10) had cut the margin to 13.

Her final act was a layup off a smooth entry pass from Charlisse Leger-Walker. An unforced 35th point to secure her career-high, before she exited the court with a minute to play, receiving a well-deserved ovation from the fans.

“I can’t deny, that was really cool,” Betts conceded. “I don’t know. I feel like the points, they really don’t mean anything to me. I really just want to win games with this team.”

Betts and the Bruins did that Monday because they fulfilled a prophecy that Close pointed out on Saturday. After having a slow start in their first-round win against 16th-seeded California Baptist, Close emphasized that was an anomaly for her squad. She was right.

Instead the Bruins carried the intensity from their dominant second half on Saturday into the first half on Monday, crashed the boards and played stout defense. And, similarly to Saturday, Jaquez’s aggression set the tone.

She grabbed three offensive rebounds and snagged two steals. Kiki Rice added 10 points.

The two most loyal Bruins, the players who came as freshmen and never wavered, deserve Monday’s emotions on another level, Close said. But all six core seniors – Betts, Rice, Jaquez, Leger-Walker, Gianna Kneepkens, Angela Dugalic – have certainly left their mark on Westwood.

“I watched them just walk around the court, and I told them in the locker room, we can talk about your wins and losses all day, but that will always pale in comparison to the way that you’ve affected this community,” Close said, “The way that you touch people’s hearts and the way that you’ve grown as young women, they get to keep that forever.”

They’ll be remembered in UCLA’s history books, but the next two weeks will determine if these Bruins will be etched into college basketball lore.