Bruins' Betts Wins Prestigious National Award

UCLA junior center Lauren Betts was named the nation's top defensive player on Wednesday. She was by far the most dominant rim protector and shot blocker in the country.

Mar 30, 2025; Spokane, WA, USA; LSU Lady Tigers forward Sa'Myah Smith (5) gets the loose ball against UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts (51) during the second half of a Elite 8 NCAA Tournament basketball game at Spokane Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images / James Snook-Imagn Images

As the No. 1 seed UCLA Bruins (34-2) get set to face the No. 2 seed UConn Huskies (35-3) in Friday night's Final Four matchup, the program's star player has been recognized with a major national award. Bruins junior center Lauren Betts has officially been named the National Defensive Player of the Year.

Her name is Lauren Betts, and she's our 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 DPOY 🤫
 
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— UCLA Women's Basketball (@UCLAWBB) April 2, 2025

A well-deserved honor for the top defender in the entire nation. Betts was the catalyst to this Bruin team all season long on both ends of the floor, but her defense and rebounding ability is what set her apart from the rest.

In her second season in Westwood and third in college basketball, Betts had a career year defensively. She almost averaged a double-double with 20.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, a majority of those rebounds having come on the defensive glass.

Betts also is tied for fourth in the nation in blocks per game (3.0), reaching a career-high for her in that category. In last weekend's Elite Eight win over LSU, Betts posted a tournament-high six blocks. She also earned a career-high nine blocks in one game, defeating No. 25 Baylor back in January.

The Aurora, Colorado native is now averaging 3.5 blocks and 9.3 rebounds in four tournament games this season, leading UCLA to their first-ever Final Four appearance and cementing herself as one of the best Bruins to ever do it.

Even when she is not recording an official block in the stat sheet, Betts is manipulating and altering opponent's shots whenever they drive anywhere near the paint. Her 6-7 size and wingspan cautions opposing scorers to find other ways to score than they normally would, making her very effective.

Despite not winning National Player of the Year which went to bitter rival USC Trojans' guard JuJu Watkins, Betts is still one of the best in the nation, hands down. If she was not going to win the all-around player award, she was certainly going to be named the nation's best defender.

Betts will be the featured star in Friday's Final Four battle with the Huskies as she looks to continue her defensive dominance against a program that lives and breathes national titles. She has also announced that she will forego the WNBA Draft this year and return for her senior season at UCLA.

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