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Rose Lavelle is nine years older than Lauren Betts. However, the former made the latter look like a small child because of the massive height difference between them.
They are more than one full foot apart!
Lavelle, one of the brightest stars for the United States Women’s National Soccer Team, returned to her hometown of Cincinnati to play a friendly against Ireland. The Ohio-native was not supposed to play at all as she works back from ankle surgery. She had just played a significant role last Thursday so Emma Hayes was going to keep her on the bench. The planned program included a rest day on Sunday with increased minutes on Wednesday.
That plan had to change! Hayes broke protocol to give Rose Lavelle a well-deserved curtain call after the crowd forced her hand. They went wild for Skyline Messi.
Prior to that point, Lavelle got the chance to hang out with Lauren Betts during pregame. Betts, a rising senior, will finish her college basketball career at UCLA during the 2025-26 season. She is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American. The Bruins’ success hinges in large part on their star center.
Betts is listed at 6-foot-7. Lavelle is listed at 5-foot-4. Their 15-inch height difference creates a rather hilarious visual when they get together on the pitch.
Lavelle had to jump to get on Betts’ level!
This kind of thing is exactly what makes sports so great. Lauren Betts and Rose Lavelle are of complete opposite builds. One plays basketball for a reason. The other plays soccer for a reason. It would be fascinating to see how they each would fare if they were to switch. Could Lavelle score a point on Betts? Could Betts score a goal on Lavelle? I’m not so sure either athlete would succeed at the opposite sport!