NCAA South Carolina UCLA Basketball

UCLA women's basketball has won its first NCAA national championship with a 79-51 blowout of South Carolina. Lauren Betts was the catalyst at both ends of the floor, as she's been throughout her career. The 6-foot-7 senior finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots, altering and preventing even the thought of several others at the rim to give UCLA its first national championship since a 1978 AIAW title. 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 win Final Four most outstanding player.

The Dallas Wings are on the clock with the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft for the second straight year. The Wings could take guard Azzi Fudd from UConn, Spanish forward Awa Fam Thiam or UCLA center Lauren Betts to complement a talented roster led by last season’s No. 1 choice Paige Bueckers. Whoever Dallas chooses at No. 1 will make $500,000 in her first year thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement that was ratified last month. That’s nearly seven-times what Bueckers made last season. The No. 2 and No. 3 picks will get $466,913 and $436,016, respectively.