Betts used lessons learned to lead UCLA to NCAA national championship

PHOENIX (AP) — Lauren Betts forced herself to repeatedly watch last season's Final Four debacle against UConn, using the lessons learned in this year's return trip to the national semifinals. The two-time All-American did her homework following a season-low points in UCLA's only loss of the season, applying what she gleaned from the game film to help take down Texas in the rematch. Betts opened up about her mental health issues, the honesty taking a weight off her shoulders while, hopefully, helping others facing their own darkness. This life of hers has been a pursuit of perfection — or at least the best version of herself — and Betts capped the college basketball portion of it by reaching the pinnacle of her sport with one final dominating performance. UCLA won its first NCAA national championship with a 79-51 blowout of South Carolina on Sunday and Betts, as she's been throughout her career, was the catalyst at both ends of the floor. "I showed up with zero confidence and wasn't sure if I wanted to really play basketball for that much longer," Betts said. "Coach Cori (Close) really believed in me and wanted to see me accomplish everything that I'd ever dreamed of. They wanted me to see myself the way they all see me and and I feel like now at this point I can finally, truly do that." The 6-foot-7 senior shook off a first-half coughing fit — the dry desert air got to her — to finish with 14 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. She altered and prevented even the thought of several others at the rim to give UCLA its first national championship since taking the 1978 AIAW title. "She's a very dominant player," South Carolina's Tessa Johnson said. "She's consistent and effective. It's hard to scout that." Betts had a similar impact in UCLA's 51-44 shutdown of Texas in the national semifinals, a 16-point, 11-rebound, three-block performance that set the stage for her to be selected as the Final Four's most outstanding player. So what if there wasn't a trophy at the announcement. Betts got to share a national championship with her younger sister, Sienna, a freshman on the team, along with friends and family in the stands. "They were crying more than I was because they've seen me since my sophomore year, just how I matured and it has been really special for them," Betts said. "They mean so much to me." The closing flourish capped a rocky-at-times career. Betts was the nation's No. 1 high school recruit out of Grandview High School, in Aurora, Colorado, and chose to play at perennial powerhouse Stanford. She had a solid freshman season, but the building mental health issues she had been struggling with began to bubble closer to the surface even after she transferred to UCLA. Betts opened up about her struggles last year and expounded upon it in a recent first-person story, in which she detailed the brutal hospital conditions and the epiphany once she got out — that she wanted to be here. "I just feel like for me, basketball and this platform that I've been given, I was put on this earth to do more than play basketball," Betts said. "I think the journey I've had, the hardships I've went through are to help other people." Betts dedicated herself to getting better, on and off the court, and became one of the nation's best college basketball players. She was UCLA's first Associated Press All-American a year ago and backed that up with another All-American nod after averaging 18.5 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting 60.1% from the field and leading the Bruins with 71 blocked shots. With Betts anchoring the middle, the Bruins (37-1) one-upped the program's first trip the Final Four last year with the best season in history. UCLA reeled off a school-record 31 straight wins following the 76-65 loss to Texas, including the payback win in the national semifinals. The Bruins then erased memories of last year's blowout Final Four loss to UConn with its first NCAA national championship. Betts, as usual, was at the center of it all, the best version of herself leading to the greatest moment of her and her teammates' lives. ___ AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness