UCLA's Betts Wins Prestigious Award Unanimously

UCLA's Lauren Betts will be adding some well-deserved hardware to her collection.

Feb 23, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts (51) shoots against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first quarter at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

UCLA women's basketball comes off a tough loss to its bitter rival, USC, on Sunday, but the Bruins have reason to celebrate today.

On Tuesday, the Big Ten announced that UCLA junior center Lauren Betts has been voted the conference's Defensive Player of the Year Award and selected to the league's All-Defensive Team by coaches and media.

Both honors were decided unanimously.

Betts has dominated all season long for the Bruins and is one of the top players in the sport.

The veteran led the conference in blocks this season with 73, as well as blocks per game with 2.8. She also averaged 5.8 defensive rebounds per game.

Betts also dominates offensively, having averaged 19.7 points per game this season while leading the conference in 2-pointers with 217. She nearly averaged a double-double, as she finished the regular season with an average of 9.9 rebounds per game.

Bett's points average ranked second in the Big Ten, only trailing the nation's best player, JuJu Watkins, who averaged a remarkable 24.4 points per game.

Betts was named to both the preseason and midseason Naismith and Wooden Award Watchlists.

This is the second year in a row that Betts has been named to the all-conference defensive team, as she previously received the honor in UCLA's last season in the Pac-12.

Betts is in her second season with the program. She transferred over from Stanford, where she spent her freshman campaign in 2022-23, averaging 5.9 points per game, 3.9 rebounds and 0.9 blocks.

Betts would take a major leap last year, increasing her scoring average to 14.9 points per game. She also averaged 9.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks and would be named to the midseason Naismith Watchlist, as well as the preseason, midseason and late season Wooden Award Watchlists.

The star Bruin helped lead her team to a 27-2 record this year, its only two losses coming against Watkins and her USC Trojans, the second, of course, having been on Saturday with the Big Ten regular-season title on the line.

The rivals could very well meet again in the upcoming conference tournament.

The Bruins have a two-round bye in the tournament and will await their next opponent, which they will face on Friday.

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