Meet 'future Olympian' leading No. 1 UCLA's rise in women's hoops

UCLA center Lauren Betts is powering the Bruins to new heights. 

With a 77-62 win over No. 1 South Carolina on Sunday -- the Bruins' first victory over a top-ranked team -- UCLA earned its first Associated Press No. 1 ranking.

A 6-foot-7 junior from Centennial, Colorado, Betts dominated against the Gamecocks, tallying 14 rebounds, four blocks, four assists and 11 points.

Five games into the season, she has 60 rebounds, 13 blocks, 17 assists and is averaging 19.4 points. Betts is so dangerous for opponents because she is active on both ends of the court. Her size and speed make her a difficult player to score on and to stop in the paint.

"A future Olympian," UCLA coach Cori Close has called Betts.

Dominant 2023-2024 season

Despite being rated the No. 1 player in the country in 2022. per ESPN HoopGurlz, Betts struggled in her transition from the high school to the collegiate game.

After appearing in 33 games off the bench in 2022-23 as a freshman at Stanford, where she averaged 5.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and one block in 9.7 minutes per game, Betts transferred to UCLA and made an immediate impact.

As a Bruin last season, Betts started in 27 games and led the team in scoring (14.9 PPG) and rebounds (9.3 RPG). She had a team-high .643 field-goal percentage, third in the NCAA last season, and made the USBWA All-America and Associated Press All-America honorable mention teams.

What's next

The Bruins (5-0, 0-0 Big Ten) are in their inaugural Big Ten Conference season along with former Pac-12 rivals USC, Oregon and Washington. UCLA will begin its conference season against the Huskies on Dec. 8 in Seattle. 

The Bruins will play eight conference schools that made the NCAA Tournament last season and two non-conference foes in Creighton (Dec. 20) and Baylor (Jan. 20) that also accomplished that feat.

Currently, six of UCLA's opponents are nationally ranked, highlighted by Big Ten rivals USC (No. 6) and Ohio State (No. 10). 

Top early potential challenging matchups for Betts

Betts will be tested by an array of centers from conference and nonconference schools. Two early challenges will come over the next two months. 

Nebraska's Alexis Markowski |6-foot-3 (Dec.29)

Markowski, who had had 16 double-double scoring and rebounding games last season, is averaging 15.8 ppg and has 45 rebounds and three blocks this season. Last season, she was ranked seventh in Fan Rankings' Top 10 Women's Basketball Center Rankings.

Baylor's Aaronette Vonleh | 6-foot-3 (Jan. 20)

This Colorado transfer is familiar with the Bruins and Betts, having played against them the past three years when they were in the Pac-12 conference. 

Last season, Vonieh played against Betts twice. In their first meeting on Jan. 19, Betts outscored Vonleh 20-10 and outrebounded her 13-7. In their rematch on Feb. 26, Vonleh outscored Betts 7-2, but Betts outrebounded her 9-3. Expect a physical matchup between these two.