Sienna Betts makes her college debut for No. 4 UCLA in 87 point blowout of Cal Poly

LOS ANGELES - No. 4 UCLA had by far their best scoring game of the season Tuesday night when they took to the court against the Cal Poly Mustangs and turned in one of their best defensive performances too, finishing the game with a massive 115-28 final score in favor of the Bruins.

It was UCLA's first triple digit finish of the season and the 87 point margin of victory was the fourth-largest in program history and the largest in the NCAA era. 

What made the Bruins eclipsing the 100-point threshold that much more impactful was the player who did it. With just under seven minutes to go, freshman forward Sienna Betts spun, stepped back and sank a midrange shot for her fifth point of the game and UCLA's 101st. 

Betts, the younger sister of superstar UCLA senior center Lauren Betts, made her long-awaited debut Tuesday night after being kept out of the season so far with an injury. She was subbed in midway through the first quarter and Pauley Pavilion roared as over a month of anticipation was finally released.

For the Betts sisters, it was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. 

"I just felt super jolly. I was just so happy to be on the court with her. She's just done a lot of work and I know that this process hasn't been easy, but just to have that moment with her, this is something that we've grown up dreaming about, so to be at this level and to be on the court with her is really amazing."

It's been a long road to this point for the younger Betts. Close has spoken at length this season about the drive that Betts has and the disappointment that Betts has felt not being able to be on the court. Still just a freshman, that intense drive can be a spark plug for success, but it can also be straining mentally. Close has made it an important mission to guide Betts through that, and reminding her not only of her talent, but of her value both as a person and a player. 

"I know who Sienna Betts is and I know how good she's going to be," head coach Cori Close said at halftime. "I just want her to give herself some grace right now. She's trying to do everything all at once. She has done a heck of a job in how she's returned to play, what's she's been learning... how she will continue to improve even though it's not the way she wanted too or planned."

Now that her first game is behind her, one of two things can happen for Betts. Either the pressure is off her shoulders and she can simply focus on moving forward, or the liklier option, she'll ramp up the intensity as much as she can now that she's got a taste of college ball.

"Sometimes an overused strength becomes a weakness. And her strength is  she demands a very high level of herself all the time. But, when you over use that or it gets out of balance it can also hold you back. So, I'm encouraging her to think about process, encouraging her to write down all of the things she did well... She made so many maturation steps over this last six or seven weeks. It's hard. If it was easy everyone would do it."