AURORA | Sienna Betts has long stood out with her play over four seasons with the Grandview girls basketball team and statistically — at least in one category — she stands alone in Colorado history.
In the first half of Wednesday’s Centennial League home contest against Overland and on Senior Night — where she was celebrated along with fellow seniors Leiava Holliman, Deija Roberson and Maya Smith — the 6-foot-4 Wolves’ star snared the rebound that put her on the top of the state’s all-time list for a career.
Betts needed eight rebounds to get in front of Discovery Canyon’s Ashton Prechtel, who had 1,336 in a four-year career at Discovery Canyon between 2015-19. With a defensive rebound in the late stages of the second quarter of Grandview’s 72-22 victory, Betts surpassed Prechtel in the 18th game of her senior season.
“Honestly, it’s not like I’m going out and trying to get all these rebounds,” Betts said. “I think I get lucky with my positioning or I read the shot and I’m in the right spot. I feel like it’s just a part of my game and something I pride myself on. …It’s a big honor.”
Among the players Betts passed on the list were her own sister, Lauren — who had 980 between 2018-22 — as well as another former Wolves star in Michaela Onyenwere, who had 1,061 between 2013-17.
Betts was credited with 243 rebounds as a freshman, 429 as a sophomore, 374 as a junior and she had 283 coming into the game against Overland.
Ulitzky noted how few other players from large classifications were in CHSAA’s all-time top 20 for rebounding and that Betts had done it against a high level of opponents.
“I think it’s a pretty special accomplishment,” Ulitzky said. “This kid has done it against national competition because we’ve traveled every year and gone against some of the best teams around. …Rebounding is a tough job, but it’s something she prides herself on.”
Betts spent the majority of the fourth quarter on the bench after she scored 21 points to help coach Josh Ulitzky’s Wolves (16-3 overall, 5-0 in the Centennial League) to their ninth consecutive victory. Sophomore Ava Chang had a game-high 25 points, while Roberson added 13.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
(1) GRANDVIEW 72, OVERLAND 22
Score by quarters:
Overland 5 6 2 9 — 22
Grandview 15 21 25 11 — 72
Overland points: Aziza Abdur-Razaaq 7, Sasha Davis 6, Malia Relford 5, Michaela Halton 2. Grandview points: Ava Chang 25, Sienna Betts 21, Deija Roberson 13, Leiava Holliman 6, Maya Smith 4, Aliya Zitek 3
