By Gabby Alfveby

Future UCLA Bruins ladies’s basketball gamer Sienna Betts’ dream ended up being a headache when her sibling, Department I ladies’s basketball star Lauren Betts, revealed that she was moving from Stanford University.

Sienna Betts has actually constantly imagined participating in UCLA and playing basketball there, so when she decided to verbally dedicate last fall on November 13, 2023, she needed to swallow that her sibling would likewise be addressing play there and she would be compared when again.

After her freshman season at Stanford, Sienna’s sibling, Lauren, got in the transfer website in early April 2023. Right away, Sienna understood in her heart which school her sibling would choose: UCLA.

The star sis will play one season together at UCLA throughout Sienna’s launching and her sibling’s last season.

Sienna Betts is a junior luxury dedicate and the No. 3 total hire in the 2025 class.

Sienna Betts and her sibling matured not constantly getting along. In truth, one factor she wished to participate in UCLA was that she understood she wished to use the West Coast however not at the very same school as her sibling.

” We do [get along] now, however when we were more youthful, we utilized to eliminate a lot, which was among the primary factors I wasn’t going to go to Stanford when she existed,” Sienna stated. “Due to the fact that I simply wished to go my own different method and do my own thing, therefore that’s why it harms when individuals are stating I’m following her since it’s actually not about her at all, the truth that I’m going there. However we are much better now. We’re actually close now, which I like, undoubtedly.”

Sienna Betts has actually been compared to her older sibling since she might keep in mind, however her competitive mindset has actually constantly encouraged her to wish to be much better than her. The sis get along now and have actually formed a better bond, however that wasn’t till just recently.

Sienna has actually put operate in at the fitness center, where she has had an individual fitness instructor for a long time now. She ended up being major about the sport in 8th grade and understood she wished to be an excellent gamer.

” For me, it was maturing as the more youthful sibling, and everybody constantly comparing us,” Sienna stated. “I was simply actually competitive my entire life, and I constantly simply wished to be much better than Lauren. I had a fitness instructor, and I would train with him every day and we simply got in the fitness center a lot. He actually assisted me not simply on the basketball side however on the psychological side, raising my self-confidence and making me think it’s actually possible to reach the level that I wished to. In 8th grade, I trained a couple hours every day, and after that ultimately, the work began actually revealing.”

Sienna Betts didn’t select UCLA since of her sibling, so when her sibling revealed where she would be moving, it put a pit in her stomach.

She hesitated of the headings and what she considered “insults” and “reaction” from fans flooding her social networks. She hesitated of the “Sienna Betts follows in her sibling’s steps” headings.

” I understood when she got in the transfer website, she was gon na go there,” Sienna stated. “I felt in one’s bones in my heart. So it was actually tough simply going out my head that I may need to have fun with her once again and everybody on Twitter was gon na be assaulting me.”

Sienna stressed that she does not wish to be compared to her sibling. She is her own gamer and has actually gotten to where she is exclusively due to her effort. She likewise states that it is just a coincidence that her sibling chose to move to the school of Sienna’s dreams.

” I would not state I’m following in her steps,” Sienna stated. “I liked UCLA; they were my dream school method before she went there, and it’s simply a coincidence that we like the very same school. We have the very same taste in individuals.”

Sienna’s household has actually made a big effect on her as a gamer and her enthusiasm for basketball. She has actually brought and continues to bring these qualities with her throughout her basketball profession.

The competition in between the 2 sis started throughout their youth in their home driveway.

” We trained together when we were more youthful, and we played a lot outside,” Sienna stated. “It’s simply a truly competitive video game to me, her, my more youthful bro, and my father; that was my entire youth. That played a huge function in how competitive we were as individuals and gamers.”

She is a real rival, and her deep love for the video game of basketball shines on the court.

For Sienna remaining in the fitness center brings her a lot satisfaction and joy whether she’s playing a video game or dealing with her fitness instructor.

” For me, I like contending, and I like being out there, and I like the environment in a health club,” Sienna stated. “I simply feel so delighted.”

UCLA was the best suitable for her, and she is delighted to be a part of the group. She wished to participate in a school and bet a program that appreciates the total wellness of its trainee professional athletes.

The household environment and excellent interaction are likewise qualities that Sienna tried to find in a program. On her main check outs to UCLA the training personnel showed to her that she would discover these qualities there.

” For me, it [committing to UCLA] was a lot about how the coaches appreciate you off the court, and the coaches at UCLA, they actually appreciate your psychological health,” Sienna stated. “Every group that I have actually ever been on, we have actually been a household … So, they actually appreciated that part of basketball for me, and they revealed me that on my gos to and when I contacted us to speak to them.”

Being far from home and finding out how to contend at the next level are some elements that student-athletes fight with when continuing their professions.

In spite of the stress the sis when shared, Sienna is happy she will have her sibling on the court with her throughout the shift from high school to college.

” I’m actually grateful that we get to cross courses once again in our profession and play together,” Sienna stated. “And it’s going to be great for my freshman year to likewise have somebody there since freshmen year is constantly the hardest. We have great chemistry, and it’s constantly great to have somebody on the court that you understand. It’s gon na be great.”

Sienna is delighted to participate in school on the West Coast where she will have beach gain access to however her focus is on having an effective profession at UCLA.

Sienna has huge objectives to satisfy while at UCLA, where she wants to win the program its very first championship game.

I’m most delighted to enhance as a gamer, and grow as an individual, and stabilizing my life beyond sports,” Sienna stated. “Undoubtedly, like everybody else, I wish to win a Championship game. So that would be actually great if I had the ability to do that there and be their very first. I likewise like California. I’m simply a truly huge beach individual in basic. That was another huge aspect of UCLA. I liked the weather condition and the location, I simply like LA.”