Wiping a tear from her eye, Lauren Betts became overwhelmed by emotion before she even stepped onto the court to receive her senior day gifts.
“It’s my mom’s fault,” the UCLA center joked. “She started it.”
Plenty more tears were shed on a Sunday afternoon drenched with sentimental moments inside Pauley Pavilion as the Bruins honored a women’s basketball senior class unlike any other.
What might be the greatest collection of talent in program history gave itself a happy sendoff with the second-ranked team’s 80-60 victory over Wisconsin.
The seniors checked out as a group with 13 seconds left as fans roared in appreciation, guard Gabriela Jaquez waving to the crowd and others exchanging hugs.
“One of them said the other day,” coach Cori Close said of her six seniors, “I might not ever play on a team like this again.”
After the Bruins (27-1, 17-0 Big Ten) pulled away from the Badgers for their 21st consecutive victory, they hoisted the conference’s regular-season championship trophy at center court while wearing commemorative hats.
It was UCLA’s first outright conference regular-season title.
“That’s the reason we all came here,” Jaquez said, “to do things that UCLA has never done before and to win a lot of games and win championships.”
Close choked up as she praised what she described as arguably the best women’s team in school history.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
