SPOKANE, Wash. — Lauren Betts was so dominant inside that she barely missed, scoring 31 points on 15-of-16 shooting to lead UCLA past Mississippi 76-62 on Friday night and sending the Bruins to the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.

The 6-foot-7 Betts added 10 rebounds and three blocks for the No. 1 overall seed, which will face LSU on Sunday for a chance to advance to the Final Four. The Tigers beat N.C. State 80-73 earlier Friday.

Kiki Rice added 13 points and seven assists and was the only other player in double figures for the Bruins (32-2).

Tameiya Sadler scored 14 points for the fifth-seeded Rebels (22-10), who had reached the Elite Eight five times, but not since 2007.

Betts had a similar line – 30 points and 14 rebounds – in the Bruins’ second-round 84-67 victory over Richmond.

Ole Miss beat Baylor on its home floor to reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in the past three years. In 2023, the Rebels upset Stanford in the second round before falling to Louisville.

Betts’ layup put the Bruins ahead 19-10 in the opening quarter, but Ole Miss closed within 21-19 on KK Deans’ jumper.

Deans’ fast-break layup at the end of the first half got the Rebels within 30-29 at the break.

The Bruins opened the second half with an 8-0 run and went up 45-33 on Londynn Jones’ 3-pointer.

Gabriela Jaquez was all alone on a fast-break layup that put UCLA up 63-46 in the final quarter, and Ole Miss never threatened after that.

UCLA’s only two losses this season came against JuJu Watkins and Southern California before the Bruins got their revenge in the Big Ten Tournament final, beating USC 72-67.

The Trojans will also play in Spokane, facing Kansas State on Saturday. It will be their first full game without Watkins, who tore the ACL in her right knee during the first quarter of a 96-59 second-round victory over Mississippi State.

Big-time Betts

Betts scored 16 of UCLA’s 30 first-half points, the second time this season that she’s scored more than half of the Bruins’ points in a half.

She has 93 blocks this season, averaging nearly three a game, and was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year.

BATON ROUGE, La. –  The start time of the LSU-Mississippi State baseball game Friday night has been delayed by inclement weather.

The game was scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. CT, but rain and lightning in the Baton Rouge area have forced the start time to be moved to later in the evening.

The Tigers are coming off of a Game 1 win on Thursday night with the chance to capture the series victory on Friday night in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Game 2.

LSU roared back from a 6-2 deficit Thursday night with a five-run fifth inning, as the Tigers recorded an 8-6 win over Mississippi State in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

LSU improved to 24-3 overall, 5-2 in the SEC, while Mississippi State dropped to 16-10 overall and 1-6 in conference play.

LSU right-hander Zac Cowan pitched brilliantly over the final 4.0 innings, blanking the Bulldogs on just one hit to earn his third save of the season. Cowan recorded no walks and seven strikeouts while firing 59 pitches.

“I’m proud of the team,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “One of our sayings is ‘there’s no clock in baseball,’ and that was a good thing for tonight, down 6-2. Our guys just stayed with it, and I’m proud of them for that. We had some really good at-bats with some walks there in the middle of the game and really big homers by Danny and Steven.

“We turned it over to Zac, and he just did what he does every time out. The guy is a strike machine, and his fastball, slider and change are elite. He tunnels the ball really well, so every pitch looks the same coming out of his hand. We’re really glad he’s on our team, and you’re not going to find a better person than Zac.”

Now, the new start time has been revealed for Friday night in Baton Rouge.

DATES/TIMES
• Friday, March 28 at 8:15 p.m. CT
STADIUM
• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La. (10,718)
RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 5 Baseball America; No. 6 USA Today; No. 8 D1 Baseball
• MSU – unranked
RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV/ONLINE
• Friday and Saturday games will be streamed live on SEC Network +

Friday’s Pitching Matchup:

LSU – Jr. RH Anthony Eyanson (3-0, 4.50 ERA, 32.0 IP, 8 BB, 46 SO)
MSU – Sr. LH Pico Kohn (4-0, 2.52 ERA, 35.2 IP, 7 BB, 53 SO)

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LSU baseball returns to action on Friday night for game two of a three-game set with Mississippi State. LSU kicked the series off with a 8-6 win on Thursday night.

Mississippi State led early in the game, but Tigers’ shortstop Steven Milam put LSU in front with a home run in the fifth inning. LSU tallied five runs that frame. LSU starter Kade Anderson didn’t have his best stuff, but he didn’t let it spiral out of control.

On Friday, Anthony Eyanson gets the start for LSU. Through six games, the transfer is 3-0 with a 4.50 ERA. Eyanson has struck out 46 batters in 32 innings pitched.

With the short week, the Bulldogs saved their ace for Friday night. Pico Kohn will get the ball for Mississippi State. He’s 4-0 with a 2.52 ERA on the year.

Here’s how to watch the LSU baseball vs. Mississippi State game today, including time, TV schedule, and streaming information:

What channel is LSU Baseball vs. Mississippi State on today?

TV Channel: STREAMING ONLY

Livestream: ESPN+ AND SEC Network+

Watch LSU baseball vs. Mississippi State live on ESPN+

LSU baseball vs. Mississippi State will be streaming only on Friday night. Fans will need ESPN+ to watch the game.

LSU baseball vs. Mississippi State time on Friday

• Date: Friday, March 28
• Start time: 6:30 PM CT

The LSU Tigers baseball vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs game starts at 6:30 PM CT from Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

LSU baseball vs. Mississippi State predictions, picks

LSU 9, Mississippi State 7: LSU will give up its fair share of runs and the bullpen will be tested, but the Tigers will score enough to get the win. The Bulldogs have the pitching advantage in this one, but I trust LSU’s veteran bats to get some clutch hits.

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