Daylen Georges

Sienna Betts. An absolute beast on the basketball court, dominating with her incredible skills and making jaw-dropping plays. She’s a force to be reckoned with and always leaves spectators in awe of her raw talent. 

Bett’s family has provided her with a consistent source of support and inspiration, fueling her passion for basketball. 

“Basketball kind of runs in my family. My dad played professionally overseas and my oldest sister played and it was just kind of it was a thing that I knew I had to play eventually,” junior Sienna Betts said. “I’ve been playing since I was five and it’s always something that I felt passionate about.”

The beginning of Betts’ career wasn’t easy, but her hours of hard work on and off the court paid off. Due to many encouraging forces, Betts continued to apply herself mentally and physically to the game of Basketball.

“In 7th and 6th grade, I wasn’t that good and then 8th grade in COVID, I was at the gym every single day for a couple of hours for a whole year with a trainer and he made me believe that it was possible mentally because it was a big mental block for me,” Betts said.

 Many improvements have been made by Betts throughout her high school career.

“Sienna has grown as a person and I feel like she has certainly grown to be able to do more things on a basketball court,” basketball head coach Josh Ulitzky said. “I think the biggest growth that I’ve seen from her is her maturity and how she interacts with people and how she’s just grown as a person.”

Betts has a significant impact on her teammates around her. Her ability to uplift and boost the confidence of her teammates is one of her greatest attributes. 

“She just pushes the best of us and then encourages us and makes us better,” sophomore Lexi Yi said.

Bett’s greatness has provided her with a guiding point that helps fuel her hard work on the court. 

“Sienna works very hard on and off the court. She does very well in school and she’s just overall she has a very good work ethic,” junior Margad Munkhsaikhan said.

Her willingness to seek direction off and on the court is an addition to Betts’ persona. 

“She wants to be coached so she is constantly asking for feedback offering a suggestion or asking what she could have done better or differently,” Ulitzky said. “She is usually very receptive to what we ask her to do and she tries to do what we’re asking.”

 In a critical moment that would shape the course of Betts’ academic and athletic trip.

“I committed to UCLA,” Betts said.

Expecting the upcoming challenge, Betts pictures the chance of competing for her school.

“I’m excited to compete and I want to win for my school because I want to be part of that group since we’ve never won a national championship. I’m excited to play at the school that I wanted to and the city that I love so much and just to have fun and travel and represent the school that I like,” Betts said.

Here highlighting Sienna’s great defensive skills and last game performance.

“Last year in the semi-final game she stopped a girl who was coming down in a transition at the three-point line and then that same girl had to make a pass to a teammate and Sienna stole the ball,” Ulitzky said.

With a worth of knowledge and insight to share, Betts shows useful insights to those guiding their travels, stressing the matter of self-compassion. 

“Don’t be so hard on yourself and have patience because it won’t come easy and lean on the elders around you,” Betts said.