Lauren Betts has commenced her professional basketball career, but the Grandview High School graduate got recognized for her previous step Wednesday night.
Betts is one of the key seniors that lead the UCLA women’s basketball team on a remarkable run to the NCAA national championship. The 6-foot-7 post player had 14 points and 11 rebounds in a title-clinching win over South Carolina and she averaged 17.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest for a Bruins team that lost just once in 38 games.
The frosting on that came when Betts was picked as the winner of the Best College Athlete – Women’s Sports and received the award at a ceremony in New York City televised by ESPN.
“Protecting my peace has been one thing I’ve been as fierce about as chasing my dreams,” said Betts, who has been extremely open about her struggle with mental health. “Your mental health is not separate from your success. It is the foundation of everything that you do.
“And the strongest people are not the ones that never struggle, they are the ones who have the courage to let someone walk through the struggle with them.”
Betts attended the ceremony with her mother, Michelle, and agent Kailey Edwards.
The other ESPY nominees in the category won by Betts were Pittsburgh volleyball player Olivia Babock, Oklahoma gymnast Faith Torrez and Northwestern lacrosse player Madison Taylor.
After winning the national championship, Betts became the No. 4 pick in the WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics. She has played 22 games with Washington and currently averages 6.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per came in 16.4 minutes of playing time. Betts’ career high of 18 points came on June 12 against Toronto.
With the Mystics, Betts plays alongside another former Grandview star — Michaela Onyenwere — who was also an assistant coach for UCLA.
— Sports Editor Courtney Oakes
