Lauren Betts Answered Biggest WNBA Concern in Angel Reese Matchup
It’s only preseason, and preseason games don’t usually mean a lot. Still, Lauren Betts’s performance against the Atlanta Dream and two-time All-Star Angel Reese was impressive.
Betts has the kind of size and defensive skill set that not many teams were likely to pass on in the draft. Still, as with any other prospect, there were some concerns—mainly how her inside scoring would hold up against WNBA-level defenders who are bigger, stronger, and more talented than most players Betts had to go up against in college, and how far she could go in the W as a traditional big without a reliable 3-point shot.
She took a massive step towards laying the first concern to rest for good in her second preseason outing with the Washington Mystics.
Betts went only 2-7 from the field against a Minnesota Lynx team that lacked its usual defense in her debut, but still scored 13 points by sinking nine free throws. The former UCLA star was much more successful against the Dream and proved that she could score against an All-Star big who was named Unrivaled Defensive Player of the Year in 2025.
Yes, she’ll have to do it consistently in the regular season and also against some bigger defenders, but this performance indicates that she’ll be able to do just that. After all, Betts will only get more comfortable and confident from here on out.
Lauren Betts played well against the Dream
Angel Reese only played 11 minutes—Karl Smesko was careful not to play his starters too much in a preseason matchup—and she spent most of her time on the court matched up with Lauren Betts.
At 6’3”, Reese is at a notable size disadvantage against Betts and certainly not one of the taller defenders the rookie will have to go up against in the W. But Reese is a great defender and physical player around the rim. Reese got the better of Betts a few times, but the rookie largely held her own. She scored seven of her 17 points against Reese and made three free throws off fouls that Reese committed.
Her first successful move against Reese came with just about six minutes left in the first quarter when she got in front of the Dream star on an off-ball cut. Reese sent her to the free-throw line, and Betts made one of her two shots. Betts’s next points against Reese came off an offensive rebound. She grabbed the board, got Reese in the air, and got the easy lay.
Just over a minute later, Betts drew another foul on Reese when she got the ball in the corner and drove to the rim. She made both free throws this time, and Madina Okot subbed in for Reese.
Betts scored two more baskets over Reese after that—one to close out the first quarter when Kiki Iriafen grabbed an offensive rebound and delivered a great pass to Betts who had gotten free behind Reese’s back for a layup, and one late in the second quarter when she managed to back down Reese to get to the rim.
The 22-year-old played well off her teammates, and those easy looks from off-ball cuts and rebounds will also be there for her when she plays a smaller role once Shakira Austin is back in the lineup.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.