SPOKANE, Wash. — At a certain point, you had to feel sorry for the Ole Miss defense. The team that prides itself on suffocating opposing offenses and making it difficult to even dribble the ball, let alone move it in the half court, was at a loss.
The defense that usually forces other teams into second-guessing themselves was instead faced with the biggest riddle of all: How do you solve a problem like Lauren Betts?
On Friday night, there were no answers.
Betts scored 31 points, her second straight game clearing the 30-point barrier and the fourth time this season, and added 10 rebounds and three blocks. Her efficiency was preposterous, as she made 15 of 16 field goal attempts, the lone miss coming as the clock wound down at the end of the second quarter.
“That’s insane,” Betts said when she heard her stat line after the game. “Honestly, I feel like ever since our loss to (USC on March 1), I’ve just completely changed my mindset going forward, just being aggressive no matter what.”
Her performance propelled the top-seeded Bruins past No. 5 seed Ole Miss 76-62 to set up an Elite Eight meeting Sunday against No. 2 seed LSU.
The first plan of attack in the Sweet 16 for Betts: Establish a deep enough seal so that she could finish without a dribble over or through her…
