AURORA | Grandview girls basketball star Lauren Betts continues to add accolades in the wake of her junior season, including the largest one available when she was named Colorado’s Gatorade Player of the Year for the 2020-21 girls basketball season.
The 6-foot-7 standout led coach Josh Ulitzky’s Wolves to the semifinals of the Class 5A girls state basketball playoffs by averaging 17.5 points and 11 rebounds per game and was rewarded by becoming the second Grandview player to win the prestigious award since Gatorade began to give it out in 1985.
Betts joined three-time winner Michaela Onyenwere (2016-17, 2015-16 and 2014-15) as Wolves to win the honor, while she is the fifth all-time for an Aurora program, joining Onyenwere and a trio of Regis Jesuit winners in Fran Belibi (2018-19) — Betts’ future teammate at Stanford — plus Justine Hall (2013-14) and Diani Akigbogun (2012-13).
“Lauren is like no other player that I have ever been around,” Cherry Creek girls basketball coach Clint Evans said in a statement from Gatorade.”
“I have game-planned for kids in the past, but Lauren is different because you game plan your defense and your offense around her. Her size is obviously the thing that makes her stand out, but it’s what she can do at that size that makes her the most difficult player to go against.”
Aside from her talent on the court — which recently landed her a spot on the Team USA U19 World Cup team that will play in Hungary this summer — Betts sports a 3.68 GPA and has volunteered locally with Project C.U.R.E. and served as a coach for youth with the Ronald McDonald House in Denver.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports