By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer
SPOKANE, Wash. — Lauren Betts was so dominant inside that she barely missed, scoring 31 points on 15-of-16 shooting to lead UCLA past Mississippi, 76-62, on Friday night and send the Bruins to the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
The 6-foot-7 Betts added 10 rebounds and three blocked shots for the No. 1 overall seed, which will face LSU on Sunday for a chance to advance to the Final Four. The third-seeded Tigers beat No. 2 seed N.C. State, 80-73, earlier Friday.
Kiki Rice added 13 points and seven assists and was the only other player in double figures for the Bruins (32-2).
Tameiya Sadler scored 14 points for the fifth-seeded Rebels (22-10), who had reached the Elite Eight five times, but not since 2007.
Betts had a similar line – 30 points and 14 rebounds – in the Bruins’ 84-67 second-round victory over Richmond.
Ole Miss beat Baylor on its home floor to reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in the past three years. In 2023, the Rebels upset Stanford in the second round before falling to Louisville.
Betts’ layup put the Bruins ahead 19-10 in the opening quarter, but Ole Miss closed within 21-19 on KK Deans’ jumper.
Deans’ fast-break layup at the end of the first half got the Rebels within 30-29 at the break.
The Bruins opened the second half with an 8-0 run and went up 45-33 on a Londynn Jones 3-pointer.
Gabriela Jaquez was all alone on a fast-break layup that put UCLA up 63-46 in the final quarter, and Ole Miss never threatened after that.
Betts scored 16 of UCLA’s 30 first-half points, the second time this season that she’s scored more than half of the Bruins’ points in a half.
She has 93 blocks this season, averaging nearly three a game, and was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year.
UCLA’s only two losses this season came against JuJu Watkins and USC before the Bruins got their revenge in the Big Ten Tournament title game, beating USC 72-67.
The top-seeded Trojans will also play in Spokane, facing fifth-seeded Kansas State on Saturday. It will be their first full game without Watkins, who tore the ACL in her right knee during the first quarter of a 96-59 second-round victory over Mississippi State.
More to come on this story.
Originally Published:
