As Trojans fans, we are truly honored to witness our team compete in many of the largest women’s basketball tournaments in the world each year. USC women’s basketball’s annual matchup with UCLA has become the most consistent annual example. I think the USC and UCLA women’s basketball rivalry is the best in the sport right now because both teams are so good and have such popular star players.
Los Angeles sports culture
For a women’s basketball game to hold as much of a place in Los Angeles pop culture as this women’s basketball game does, it has to be pretty special.
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The two teams have met in the last 8 times, with a record of 4 wins and 4 losses, and the results are neck and neck. USC has won 4 of its last 5 rivalry games, but the Bruins defeated the Trojans in their most recent game (the 2025 Big Ten Tournament Championship Game).
USC is clearly at a disadvantage
For the first time since the 2022-23 season, the Trojans are clearly underdogs in this game. Can the Bruins capitalize on their clear advantage? Or can USC ignore the scouting reports and surprise the Bruins?
Five things to watch on Saturday when the Trojans take on the Bruins in their first Big Ten road game of the season:
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Can anyone in the USC frontcourt handle Lauren Bates?
This has been an obvious storyline since the start of the season. The 6-foot-7 Betts, projected to be a top-5 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft, is the most difficult player to guard in the game, and has been for a few years.
But USC is one of the few teams that has been able to slow down Betts over the past few seasons. She never scored more than 18 points in a game against the Trojans. Last season, a back committee that included Kiki Iriafin, Raya Marshall, Clarice Akunwafo and even JuJu Watkins worked around the clock, making it very difficult for Betts to score.
None of these players will appear in this year’s game. Instead, USC has a lot of inexperienced forwards.
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Is anyone up to the task of protecting Betts and keeping her off the boards? Will it be USC’s most reliable frontcourt defender Gerda Raulušaityte this season? Will Jaz Davidson take turns guarding Betts like Watkins did last season?
Beating UCLA will be a tall order for USC, but if the Trojans can force Betts into a bad shooting night, the odds of an upset win greatly increase.
What will happen if Rondion Jones returns to Poly?
Guard Londynn Jones is the Trojans’ second-leading scorer, averaging 12.5 points per game, and transferred to USC from UCLA last season.
Apparently Bruin’s fans weren’t happy with her. Anytime a player moves to a crosstown rival, it’s hard for loyal fans to swallow.
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Will she be booed by UCLA fans? If so, will this inspire and stick with her?
Trojan fans would most like to see Jones have her best game of the season, eclipse her season high of 28 points and silence the Bruins crowd.
Can Kennedy Smith continue her strong performance against Nebraska?
Kennedy Smith started the season with a long, very frustrating offensive slump. It doesn’t matter who the Trojans are playing; They played some non-conference opponents that had pretty weak defenses. Smith just couldn’t get her offense going.
That is until USC takes on Nebraska on Monday. Smith made 8 of 12 shots and scored a season-high 17 points efficiently.
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If Smith can prove that her performance against Nebraska wasn’t a fluke, that she’s made adjustments, and that her struggles in non-conference games were just downturns, that would be a huge boost for the Trojan offense. Statistically speaking, Smith consistently scoring 15-20 points on 50% or better shooting will take her and the Trojans’ game to the next level.
How will Jazzy Davidson leave her mark on this competition?
As I mentioned, this rivalry has become a box office event in recent years, thanks in large part to the popularity of the women’s basketball stars involved. JuJu Watkins, Kiki Iriafen, Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Mackenzie Forbes, Gabriela Jaquez.
Jazzy Davidson is the latest big name to join the list. The nation’s top-ranked freshman has been USC’s clear X-factor in big games. Her best game of the season at USC came in a ranking match victory. Her worst game of the season was the loss to No. 3 USC.
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Will she shine in the biggest game of her career to date? If she does, it will add another memorable chapter to this incredible rivalry.
Will UCLA’s 3-point shooting give the Bruins an advantage?
On paper, UCLA’s three-point shooting percentage is much better than USC’s. Not particularly close. The Bruins are shooting 37.5% from three-point range this season, while the Trojans are shooting just 30.1%. UCLA has two players shooting 40 percent or better from 3-point range, while USC has just zero. Broadening the criteria, UCLA has four players shooting 35% or better from three-point range, while USC has just two.
If this game is a defensive battle like I expect, the 3-point shot will be especially important. If the Bruins can take 2-4 more open threes than the Trojans, that could be the difference between winning and losing.
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USC will have to put in a lot of effort to make the Bruins uncomfortable from beyond the arc and find smart, open three-point opportunities themselves.
That’s the overall name of the game at USC. UCLA has most of the advantages on paper. The Trojans need to go all out and punch a little above their weight class.
Luckily, the underdog story is what makes college sports so exciting. And, the Trojans have proven over the years that winning any game is possible with Lindsey Gottlieb on the USC sidelines.
This article originally appeared in Trojans Wire: USC women’s basketball takes on UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday