Sienna Betts, a freshman at UCLA, has opened up about what it’s like to play alongside her sister, Lauren. According to Sienna, a senior, Lauren is a leader. Lauren is also projected to be a top-five pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
As Lauren, 22, and Sienna, 19, get ready for the Bruins’ Final Four match against Texas on April 3, they’re accustomed to seeing stories about having their built-in best friend on the court.
Sienna’s Initial Hesitation About Joining UCLA
Lauren’s decision to transfer to UCLA from Stanford in 2023 didn’t initially sit well with Sienna, who was a high school sophomore at the time. “I wasn’t gonna come here anymore,” said Sienna, who had UCLA as her top college choice at the time. “I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to hear, ‘I came here for my sister,’ and I didn’t want to play college with her just because we’ve butted heads so much growing up.”
Sienna has always been her own person. Michelle Betts, the sisters’ mother, said Sienna likes “to have the opportunity to do things on her own and have things to herself,” and “she would have liked to have had UCLA to herself.”
It took months for Sienna to even make the decision to go to UCLA after Lauren announced her move. Her family became a non-factor in her college choice. “I think at that time she kind of wanted to figure things out on her own,” Michelle said. “After Lauren went to UCLA, it seemed like Sienna didn’t really want us as involved in her recruiting as we had been.”
Dispelling Recruitment Rumours
Some reports suggested Sienna was swayed toward UCLA with a PowerPoint that her sister made on the day she verbally committed. Sienna quickly dispelled that notion, stating, “That day I was already planning on committing. So it wasn’t like it was a deciding factor. Everyone keeps saying that.”
Navigating Sibling Dynamics On and Off the Court
Growing up, the sibling rift was always present. Off the court, it’s no more than your run-of-the-mill sister drama. On the court, the clash of personalities takes a bit of a different shape.
This season isn’t the first time that the Betts sisters have played on the same team. They played together as a freshman and a senior in high school in Aurora, Colorado. “It was pretty different from this year,” Sienna said. “I mean, I was a starter, but also I think our relationship wasn’t as good. We were around each other so much, and we were just forced to be around each other so much, like living together.”
Sienna worried that playing with her sister again would mean more of the same conflicts as that year in high school.
At Sienna’s request, Lauren has left the mentoring of her younger sister to the coaches and her fellow seniors like Angela Dugalic and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
Lauren also made sure to make Sienna feel welcome from the first day at UCLA, but she