This post was updated March 21 at 11:10 p.m.
A drought begged to be watered with 41 seconds to play in the first half Friday night.
There had been a lack of Bruin rainfall for the last 5:39 minutes of play, and Pauley Pavilion was yearning for some moisture.
Enter Lauren Betts.
The most towering figure on the floor – who could see that dehydration clearer than anyone on the floor – poured in a pair.
The junior center gathered the ball while being mobbed by more than just her one defender. But a nifty spin in the paint and a 6-foot-7 stature helped dethaw the Bruins’ tally – stuck at 36 – and send the stalwart to the line.
Betts dawdled to the charity stripe, slow enough to ensure her eyes could pierce through the swarming Jaguar defenders. But as hard as No. 16 seed Southern (21-15, 15-3 Southwestern Atlantic) fought and as vivid its hopes may have been, Betts and No. 1 seed UCLA women’s basketball (31-2, 16-2 Big Ten) were an ocean too deep to navigate with an 84-46 undertow in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s really easy to play with a big that’s really skilled and good at her job. Lauren is a cheat code,” said junior forward Janiah Barker. “It’s really a blessing to have her on the team. … She leads the team, and we follow her – right behind her lead.”
Jaguar coach Carlos Funchess seemed to have constructed his scout around the Bruins’ National Player of the Year candidate.
While center Tionna Lidge and forward Sky Castro committed to their coach’s plot, Jaguar guards similarly rallied to contain the 6-foot-7 center – creating a frequent 5-on-1 situation for Betts.
The struggle? Most of them were dwarfed by a foot.
“The reality for us is that every team is going to look different, but every scouting report stops with how they are going to try to double up on Lauren,” said coach Cori Close. “And this time, not only did they send doubles, but the pressure on the guard was just trying to limit vision.”
Lidge and Castro trained their eyes on Betts, smothering her in the paint and denying her options. UCLA’s center was fastened behind Jaguar chains early.
What the Jaguars were not familiar with, though, was Betts’ apparent familiarity with havoc in the paint and her ability to deliver in the cramped quarters of the key.
But soon enough, Betts schooled the Jaguars on why her team had bagged its first-ever No. 1 overall seed in March.
And sure enough, the lesson was learned.
“They’re not No. 1 for no reason,” said Southern guard DaKiyah Sanders.
And though the Jaguar jerseys of Pauley Pavilion had to learn their lesson, they didn’t appear ready to fracture just their seventh NCAA Tournament run too early.
Southern plummeted into a 20-point deficit 6:20 minutes into the first stanza following a 10-3 UCLA run through just over two minutes. But the two programs would then exchange roles.
Forcing the nation’s top seed into what appeared a dearth of offense for 5:39 minutes, the Jaguars capitalized on the Bruins’ offensive inefficiency to string together eight straight points and shave off their deficit to just eight with a minute on the second-quarter clock.
The light blue-clad flock stationed behind Southern’s bench erupted at halftime – the tantalizing possibility of an upset might have flickered into view, ever so slightly.
“Man, does Southern play hard,” Close said. “One of the top teams in the country in forcing turnovers for a reason – because they play so hard. Their ability to sit in the stance and to sit down and guard for long periods of time is really admirable. I have a lot of respect for how hard they play.”
But soon after that door opened, it came to a screeching halt.
UCLA limited Southern to just seven points through the third stanza while accumulating 21 of its own. Shots kissed the net from all regions, and four starters muscled their way to the line to award the Bruins 11 freebies through the frame.
“We talked about rebounding, defending their tunnel drives – they really like to get down the middle – and making adjustments quicker within the game,” said junior guard Kiki Rice. “That’s something we got to continue to do better as players – when they went on their scoring runs, figuring out ways before timeouts or before coach Cori has to come tell us, just be able to make those adjustments quicker as a team.”
There wouldn’t be much more to cheer for among the light blue legion in Pauley Pavilion as UCLA mounted a lead that was far from exciting.
And there certainly wouldn’t be another glimpse into their upset dreams.
While the Jaguars’ hopes were permanently put to sleep Friday, yet another fanbase urging for an upset is awaiting the Bruins.
No. 8 seed Richmond – which dispatched Georgia Tech 74-49 prior to UCLA’s affair – will return to the Bruins’ house Sunday at 7 p.m. for another stop en route to national glory.
“I was so impressed both on film and what I saw today against Georgia Tech in terms of how they shoot the ball, how they share it, how they spread you out,” Close said. “I also was really impressed about how they use their length on the defensive end – they got tons of deflections, disrupted what Georgia Tech wanted to do. … They’re going to really challenge us to get out and guard on the 3-point line and really be able to communicate through screens.”
