This post was updated Dec. 7 at 6:19 p.m.
It took Lauren Betts just 14 minutes to record a double-double.
And after logging the coveted feat well before halftime, the senior center ran with the momentum to record a season-high 24 points in No. 4 UCLA women’s basketball’s (9-1, 1-0 Big Ten) 80-59 defeat of Oregon (10-1, 0-1) Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion. The victory marks the Bruins’ first Big Ten game and win of the season and their third straight since falling to then-No. 4 Texas Nov. 26.
“I watched film with Lauren this morning and watching her put some things into practice that we looked at in film – those are all the things I celebrate as a coach,” said coach Cori Close.
Betts entered the Big Ten opener coming off a seven-point performance in UCLA’s previous game against then-No. 14 Tennessee, which put last season’s leading scorer outside of the team’s top three in scoring this year.
After recording her previous season-high in the season opener and just one double-double in the seven subsequent games, it appeared that the Centennial, Colorado, local had reached a stalemate.
But Sunday afternoon breathed renewed life into the senior, who entered the season as the projected No. 1 selection in the 2026 WNBA Draft. Betts finished the game with 14 rebounds – over a quarter of the team’s 52 total boards – and a season-high five blocks.
“Sometimes when I know the double team is coming, I can get rushed, and I think that messes with how I play,” Betts said. “So continuing to know where my teammates are … and then being patient, I think that’s the most important thing.”
The Bruins lacked offensive efficiency in the first quarter, posting a collective 40% clip from the field and a 22.2% tally from beyond the arc. However, 19 rebounds to Oregon’s eight afforded UCLA the second-chance opportunities needed to build a 19-8 advantage entering the second frame.
And Close’s squad seemingly settled into the lead to post a collective 57.1% clip from the field across the second quarter. It was graduate student Gianna Kneepkens who helped generate opportunities for her team on multiple drives to the basket for five points across the second quarter.
“Really the superpower of our team is that it can be anyone’s night,” Kneepkens said. “When we move the ball, it’s really hard to guard because the defense is rotating and out of position. It’s a lot of fun to play that way.”
On the perimeter – the usual domain that Kneepkens dominates – it was all freshman guard Lena Bilić, who ended the game just one point short of her season-high 14. The true freshman found her rhythm from beyond the arc, knocking in three 3-pointers in just the first half alone.
Bilić has stepped into an integral role as the Bruins’ most prominent new talent, with the No. 2 recruit in the nation, freshman forward Sienna Betts, still sidelined with a lower leg injury.
Despite going into intermission riding a high, the momentum disappeared after halftime. 17 of the team’s 22 assists happened within the first 21 minutes of the game, and the diminishing ball movement manifested itself in just 31 points off a 34.5% clip from the field and 20% tally from the perimeter in the second half.
“The thing that I’m really challenging them on is our consistency,” Close said. “When we get into comfortable spaces, we just have to grow on not getting tired of doing it right. We get casual. We communicate less.”
Offensive woes were evident in the Bruins’ 61.9% percentage from the charity stripe, the only area the Ducks appeared to outperform their opponent, posting a collective 84.6% clip from the free throw line.
While the Bruins struggled to remain consistent on offense, it shut down the Ducks on defense, forcing their opponent to turn the ball over 11 times and shoot just 33.3% from the field.
The Bruins limited guard Katie Fiso – Oregon’s leading scorer – to just four points in the first half after what appeared to be ankle pain early in the first quarter sent Fiso to the locker room. The sophomore returned to the court to make just one field goal off five attempts before improving to 5-for-12 in the last two frames.
Graduate student guard Charlisse Leger-Walker’s presence was evident in the Bruins’ defensive effort, even if it was not manifested in her two points. The Waikato, New Zealand, local trailed Betts with seven defensive rebounds and facilitated the rebounding efforts into a team-high eight assists.
“She (Leger-Walker) makes other people look good,” Betts said. “She’s very selfless, and that’s really special about her because she doesn’t really care how much she produces. She just wants to make sure that we win at the end of the day.”
Despite losing reigning Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year forward Janiah Barker to the transfer portal, the Bruins did not lack substitution depth and scored 22 points off the bench in their conference opener.
UCLA will have over a week of rest before returning to Pauley on Tuesday, Dec. 16, to face Cal Poly.
“This is really an art project and not a scientific formula,” Close said. “Just like I expect them to come back to the drawing board on practice on Tuesday and go, ‘Hey, this is what I’m willing to change’, I got to do the same.”
