Watch: Lauren Betts brings Chloe Kitts to the ground with aggressive block and steal
Lauren Betts and UCLA were too much for South Carolina and Chloe Kitts on Sunday. The Bruins handed the Gamecocks their first loss of the season, 77-62, and also snapped their 43-game winning streak.
In a particularly standout moment just six minutes into the game, Lauren Betts blocked Chloe Kitts' attempts at a jumper and then took possession of the ball. Watch the moment here:
The move set the tone for the rest of the game as the Bruins powered through and South Carolina struggled to catch up. Lauren Betts finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
Londynn Jones scored a team-high 15 points and took three steals. Meanwhile, KiKi Rice and Gabriela Jaquez also finished with 11 points.
During a press conference before tip-off, South Carolina coach, Dawn Staley hinted at concerns about containing Lauren Betts who has a high mid-range efficiency (72.2%).
“I would imagine that it’s just gonna be a tough game for us all. She poses a different challenge than even with Kamilla. ... Betts is really good when she gets two feet in the paint. So we’ve got to try our best to not give her those kind of looks.
"We just need to knock off her efficiency rate. 79% (shooting) probably at 22 field goal attempts is not good math. She’s that effective.”
Coach Staley's concerns proved right as the Gamecocks struggled against Betts and will now have to reevaluate their strategy to navigate a center-less playing style.
UCLA Bruins' Lauren Betts is fired up after the win over South Carolina
After transferring from Stanford as a sophomore, Lauren Betts averaged 14.9 points and 9.3 rebounds last season. She led the Bruins in the Sweet 16 run. Now as a junior, Betts is hoping to build on it and the win over South Carolina is an important step for it.
"I'm so frickin proud of this team," Betts said. "We worked our butts off all week. The coaches put together a really good scout. I'm just so happy, I'm so proud of all the work we put in. We really earned this game. We played so selfless tonight.
"Listen: If you've been sleeping on UCLA, you need to stop right now. Because that was just... we're incredible. I'm so happy!"
She also reiterated their dreams and plans for achieving them.
“At the end of the day, we know what we want to do at the end of the season: We want to win a national championship,” Betts said. “It’s taking each practice as preparation and just keeping those same habits every single day.”
After the win over the Gamecocks, the Bruins will next face UT Martin on Friday.