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The highest-profile matchup in this still-fresh women’s college basketball season tips off on Monday night at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA at 10:30 p.m. ET (FS1): No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 6 Oklahoma.
The Bruins are 2-0, although head coach Cori Close has refused to allow her squad to bask in blowout wins, instead making sure UCLA plays to their championship standard. The Sooners will take the court for just the second time after opening the season with a win last Monday.
As is to be expected of two teams with title aspirations, both are stacked with star-level talents, all of whom can turn Monday’s showdown into their personal showcase. Will it be Lauren Betts, Raegan Beers, Kiki Rice or Aaliyah Chavez? Here’s how the two Bruins or two Sooners can make a statement:
The 6-foot-7 senior seems to live in two basketball worlds.
In the immediate, Lauren Betts is an All-American and National Player of the Year candidate hoping to lead UCLA to the program’s first national championship. At the same time, she could be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, a possibility that requires her to prove that her game will translate to the next level.
Luckily for the Bruins, the path to positives outcomes demands the same of Betts. No matter how great she already is, she must be better, as an expanded scoring range, greater playmaking facility and increased activity and intensity will not only put the Bruins in the best position possible to win it all, but also raise WNBA evaluators’ estimation of her.
Betts doesn’t need to show off everything on Monday night, but a test against a top-10 opponent is the perfect time for her to flash new facets of her game. If that happens, UCLA, most certainly, will head back to Southern California at 3-0.
In contrast to Betts, Raegan Beers, also a senior center, hasn’t inspired much WNBA Draft buzz. That’s the difference between 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-4. When it comes to succeeding in the WNBA, possessing outlier traits and/or skills are essential, especially for players who profile as mostly traditional bigs.
Beers, however, has been just about as productive as Betts as a collegian. In her first season with the Sooners, she posted 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game on 63.3 percent shooting, while Betts was at 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game on 64.8 percent shooting. Beers doesn’t offer the rim protection of Betts, but she is a more capable shooter, taking one 3 per game last season at a respectable 36.4 percent clip.
A big game in this head-to-head matchup won’t vault Beers to the top of draft boards, but outshining Betts in an Oklahoma win could open minds about Beers’ pro potential, while, more importantly, certifying the Sooners as true contenders.
As Eric Nemchock emphasized in his draft profile of Kiki Rice, her college tenure has been characterized by year-over-year improvement, with the now-senior guard rounding out her game in ways that check key boxes for WNBA scouts.
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Monday night she can add to that resume, particularly with a big scoring game.
Last season, Rice tended to take a back seat as a scorer in UCLA’s biggest games, racking up assists instead of looking for her own shot. Reading opposing defenses and making the most advantageous play, especially when you have a 6-foot-7 teammate who is almost automatic around the basket, is the sign of a smart point guard. That said, if Rice establishes herself as a scoring threat, her playmaking can become even more dangerous.
Whether Rice sees freshman Aaliyah Chavez or sophomore Zya Vann marking her, the more experienced guard should go at that matchup with aggression, looking for hers as much as she looks for others and, in turn, leading the Bruins to the win.
Aaliyah Chavez (Oklahoma)
Aaliyah Chavez is not going to wait her turn.
The most-heralded recruit to ever decide to hoop for the city of Norman, Chavez fired up 18 shot attempts in her college debut. While she was not efficient, going 1-for-8 from 3 and ending up with 16 points, it’s doubtful that she will be deterred, and nor should she be.
The Sooners want to be a fast-paced and high-octane offensive outfit, and operating at such a capacity requires Chavez to embrace her role as starting point guard without fear. In the opener, her aggression as a scorer was complemented by impact in other areas of the game, from six boards to five assists to three steals and, encouragingly, just two turnovers.
UCLA, a team that prides itself on defensive attention to detail, will present a much stiffer challenge for Chavez. Don’t expect her to back down. Monday night will either result in her and the Sooners taking a tough loss and some honest lessons or the freshman will steal the spotlight with star-level showing as Oklahoma exits California with a statement-making win.
