The UCLA Bruins coach had a regional championship net to wear in celebration after leading the program to its first women’s NCAA Final Four. She also had one little scrap of nylon that she had cut out separately,

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 and sending the Bruins to the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.

If Ole Miss managed to push her out far enough from the basket where she couldn’t back down from her defender, Betts would go out on the perimeter and set a screen for her ballhandler, clearing the runway for a drive to the basket, a tactic that junior point guard Kiki Rice used to great effect.

The Bruins' junior center continues to improve her game during a dominant run in the NCAA tournament. The Tigers will try to slow her down Sunday.

UCLA, which entered Friday averaging 15 turnovers per game, finished with 19 against Ole Miss. The Rebels cashed in on 15 points off them. That’s fine when Betts dominated the way she did, but the margin for error only gets smaller as the tournament continues.

But in Sunday’s Elite Eight matchup against UCLA, Mulkey will have the challenge of trying to get her team to contain UCLA 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts, whose skill set has shades of Griner’s college days. Everything UCLA does runs through Betts.

Lauren Betts finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds as the UCLA women defeated Mississippi in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament to reach the Elite Eight.

Mychal Thompson, who won two NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, was inspired by Lauren Betts' performance in UCLA's win over Richmond.