Sienna Betts lives without filters and plays without fear. She grew up learning to shoot over — and around — a 6-foot-7 big sister. You think the Class 5A Great 8 was going to psyche her out?
“It is just so crazy. It feels unreal,” Betts said with a grin after helping to power Grandview to a 70-38 rout of Cherry Creek on Friday night, setting up a showdown with Highlands Ranch on Thursday in the 5A Final Four.
“All these teams we’re going against, all these teams that are in the Final Four, I’ve watched games here (at Denver Coliseum) with them. It’s really exciting. It’s finally my turn.”
And she’s taking advantage of the stage.
The Wolves’ 6-foot-3 freshman forward dropped 10 points, six boards and two blocks on the Bruins in the state quarterfinals, combining with senior sibling Lauren — a Stanford commit and the top recruit in the nation — to help Grandview rack up 17 second-chance points to Creek’s six.
“She moves differently,” coach Josh Ulitzky said of the Betts sisters. “They’re both athletic, but Sienna has got a little bit more range to her and she can cover a little bit more ground. She moves her feet a little better. She’s really strong on the block, has some really good moves. She’s a really good passer, she sees stuff and she really looks for her sister a lot.”
Over the past 18 months, Sienna Betts has really come into her own. The freshman post is already being touted as Colorado’s next superstar on the basketball recruiting front and was recently featured on
“She works extremely hard,” mother Michelle Betts noted. “She’ll tell you she refuses to get anything (other) than an ‘A.’ I don’t know where that came from. It didn’t come from me or her dad.”
The younger Betts is primarily used as a stretch ‘4’ by the Wolves and can work comfortably from the wing or the paint thanks to superlative court instincts, vision and passing acumen thatap already advanced for her age. The Grandview post standout went into the Great 8 topping the Wolves in assists per game (3.5) while trailing only her big sister on the roster in rebounds (9.3 per game) and blocks (1.9). She’s averaging 10.5 points per game.
“No one could do what Lauren does (on the block),” Sienna said. “I’m evolving into more of a modern player, where I can go outside and shoot or go inside and drive.”
When the pandemic hit, Sienna spent her 8th grade year schooling largely from home. It also gave her a chance to work out more frequently with coach Derek Griffin, smoothing over the rougher parts of her game while putting polish on other parts.
“She went into the pandemic thinking, ‘You know, Mom, I wish I were a better player,’” Michelle recalled. “’My defense is good but I can’t do anything else.’ She came out of that 2020-21 school year doing all kinds of stuff. She came out with handles and spin moves. Itap unbelievable.”
Mom laughed as she recalled tales of a middle child with zero trepidation, a toddler she had to chase or rescue from high shelves and tables, a daredevil who climbed anything she could. Father Andy even used to kiddingly refer to Sienna as “Mowgli,” after the character in
“Sometimes (Lauren) is the crazy one,” Sienna chuckled. “It really depends on the time of the day. Most of the time, it’s me.”
A gifted student and artist who’s almost as skilled with a paint brush as she is with the rock, loved ones will tell you that Sienna’s fought to earn anything she’s received — grades, playing time, attention, control of the car radio when her sister is driving, you name it.
She’s also as blunt — and as honest — as Lauren is reserved.
“Lauren keeps it a little bit more to herself,” Ulitzky noted, “whereas Sienna will tell you exactly what she’s thinking.”
“Sienna is probably the realest person I know,” Lauren added. “I mean, she doesn’t really hide anything.
“And she works really hard. She deserves everything that she’s getting. So yeah, I never take it easy on her, because I know how much better she’s going to get.”
