How UCLA's trio of freshmen keep the joy coming during March

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How UCLA's trio of freshmen keep the joy coming during March

How UCLA's trio of freshmen keep the joy coming during March

Jack Little, Special to USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Sun, Mar 29, 2026 ·

3 min read

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SACRAMENTO, CA – The loudest cheer from the pro- UCLA crowd in the Bruins' Sweet 16 blowout win over Minnesota on March 27 came on a play that had no impact on the outcome.

Christina Karamouzi , a freshman from Sweden, scored her first points since New Year's Eve with a late-game corner triple to send the UCLA bench and fan section directly behind it into a frenzy. Fellow freshmen Lena Bilic and Sienna Betts , both on floor, jumped for joy when the shot dropped.

The trio of freshmen, who call themselves "Slizzy," have embraced their roles on an experienced squad. Four of the starters for the Bruins are projected to be first-round WNBA draft picks this year, so minutes for the rookies have been hard to come by.

"It's definitely been hard since we are on a really talented team and we have a lot of players who are projected to go to the draft," Bilic said. "Just having each other really helps us out because we're all going through the same thing, we get to talk to each other a lot, and it's a really good thing that we actually like each other."

Six of the stars for the Bruins won't be in Westwood next year. The door will be wide open for Slizzy to enter the limelight.

"They're really talented, skilled players," Lauren Betts, older sister of Sienna, said. "I have all the confidence in the world in them that they're going to carry this team to amazing things next year, and in the next few years. So excited for them."

Michigan State's Rashunda Jones (1) walks off the court following a second-round game in the NCAA women's basketball tournament between the Oklahoma Sooners and Michigan State Spartans at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Sunday March 22, 2026.

(SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN via USA TODAY NETWORK)

Denae Fritz #5 of the Texas Tech Lady Raiders reacts after a game against the LSU Tigers in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 22, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
(Tyler Kaufman, Getty Images)

Forward Hannah Stuelke #45 of the Iowa Hawkeyes reacts after a double overtime loss to the Virginia Cavaliers in the second round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 23, 2026 in Iowa City, Iowa.
(Matthew Holst, Getty Images)

Forward Hannah Stuelke #45 of the Iowa Hawkeyes hugs her mother after the double overtime loss to the Virginia Cavaliers in the second round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 23, 2026 in Iowa City, Iowa.
(Matthew Holst, Getty Images)

Chance Gray #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Kennedy Cambridge #3 sit on the bench as time runs down in the fourth quarter of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Second Round game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Jerome Schottenstein Center on March 23, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio. Notre Dame defeated Ohio Sate 83-73.
(Kirk Irwin, Getty Images)

Head coach Krista Gerlich of the Texas Tech Lady Raiders reacts during the second half of a game against the LSU Tigers in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 22, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
(Tyler Kaufman, Getty Images)

Snudda Collins #0 of the Texas Tech Lady Raiders reacts during the second half of a game against the LSU Tigers in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 22, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
(Tyler Kaufman, Getty Images)

Kamy Peppler #1 of the Green Bay Phoenix reacts against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the third quarter during the First Round of the Women's NCAA Tournament at Williams Arena on March 20, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Golden Gophers defeated the Phoenix 75-58.

(David Berding, Getty Images)

Audi Crooks #55 of the Iowa State Cyclones reacts during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament against the Syracuse Orange at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on March 21, 2026 in Storrs, Connecticut.
(Joe Buglewicz, Getty Images)

The Vermont women's basketball team starters consoled each other as the Caramounts lost to Louisville at the 2026 NCAA Women's March Madness basketball tournament at the KFC Yum Center In Louisville, Kentucky, March 21, 2026.
(Matt Stone/Courier Journal)

Rhode Island Rams head coach Tammi Reiss gives a hug to Rhode Island Rams guard Sophia Vital (15) in the waning moments of the Rams' loss to Alabama in the 2026 NCAA Women's March Madness basketball tournament at the KFC Yum Center In Louisville, Kentucky, March 21, 2026.
(Matt Stone/Courier Journal)

Comari Mitchell #5 of the Jacksonville Dolphins reacts during the second half of the game against the LSU Tigers in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 20, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
(Tyler Kaufman, Getty Images)

Bailey Burns #11 of the Jacksonville Dolphins exits the court after the game against the LSU Tigers in first round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 20, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
(Tyler Kaufman, Getty Images)

In preparation for this reality, veterans Charlisse Ledger-Walker and Angela Dugalic have taken the trio under their wing. They even helped Karamouzi and Bilic, both international recruits, set up their bank accounts and phone numbers when they arrived on campus.

While Dugalic is close with the foreign-born component of Slizzy, she shares a special connection with Sienna Betts. They are in direct competition for playing time, but Dugalic has never viewed it that way.

"I want to do whatever I can to help Sienna," Dugalic said. "I just want to give her the knowledge that I know so that in the future she can be the best version of herself."

After some of the older players decided to hang around for an extra year, Sienna Betts, one of the nation's top high school recruits, didn't get as much of the role she expected when she signed.

"The best I can do is just learn from it and shift my mindset," Betts said. "I know I've already learned so much this year and if people like Angela didn't stay, I wouldn't have been able to have her, and it would have been horrible."

The relationship is mutually beneficial for the older players. While mentoring, they are reminded why they love the sport.

"They just bring a certain type of joy that only a freshman can bring," Ledger-Walker said. "It really takes us back a bit and makes us all reflect, like 'We still can enjoy all of this' and be grateful for a lot of things."

Slizzy has been supplying good vibes to the Bruins since Day 1, or even before that for Karamouzi.

"They had already made up their name before Christina even got here, and so she just fit right in," Ledger-Walker said. "Seeing them kind of grow in their friendship, and just seeing them off of the court is so fun, but they're just such great additions to this team and bring so much joy to us."

No. 1 UCLA will try to keep the good vibes going all the way to the Final Four when it takes on No. 3 Duke on March 29.

Jack Little is a student in the University of Georgia's Carmical Sports Media Institute.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How UCLA's trio of freshmen keep the joy coming during March

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