UCLA star Lauren Betts makes history, headlines Big Ten honors
Second-ranked UCLA’s dominant run through the Big Ten came with a slew of individual honors announced by the league Tuesday morning. Leading the way and making history was star center Lauren Betts.
Betts was one of seven different Bruins players recognized by the Big Ten, becoming the first player in conference history to be named the player of the year and defensive player of the year in the same season. It marked the second consecutive season she has earned defensive player of the year honors.
“It’s an honor. I’m truly in shock,” Betts told the Big Ten Network.
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Betts averaged 16.7 points on 55.8% shooting to go with a conference-leading 8.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 blocks per game.
Head coach Cori Close, the league’s coach of the year, guided the Bruins (28-1) to an outright regular-season conference championship for the first time in program history after posting a perfect 18-0 record in Big Ten play. UCLA earned the top seed in the Big Ten tournament, which begins this week in Indianapolis.
Betts and guard Kiki Rice were also the lone teammates to earn unanimous All-Big Ten first-team honors in both the coaches’ and media vote. Both players also landed on the all-defensive team, with Betts recognized by both while Rice got the nod from the coaches.
Rice averaged 15.2 points on 50.3% shooting to go with 6.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals.
Second-team honors from the media vote included guards Gabriela Jaquez and Gianna Kneepkens. Forward Angela Dugalic was named the Big Ten’s top reserve and forward Sienna Betts was an all-freshman team selection.
Jaquez also got the coaches’ second-team vote after averaging 14.1 points and shooting 54.5% from the field, including 41% on 3-point attempts. Kneepkens, who was an honorable mention pick by the coaches, was the league’s third-best 3-point shooter at 45.7% and averaged 13.2 points, in addition to shooting 53% overall and 94.1% at the free-throw line to achieve the 50/40/90 mark.
Dugalic came off the bench in 26 of 29 games to average 7.1 points and 5.1 rebounds. Betts, the younger sister of Lauren Betts, averaged 6.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in 19 appearances off the bench.
UCLA guard Charlisse Leger-Walker was also named the recipient of the Big Ten’s sportsmanship award.