The City of Stars will in turn become the epicenter of women’s college basketball when Los Angeles hosts two of the most monumental non-conference contests of the young season this weekend. Not since the 1970s and 1980s have the city’s major programs had such a hold on the football landscape.
No. 3 USC and No. 5 UCLA, the city’s two premier college programs, finished last season together in the top 10 in the final Associated Press poll for the first time in 20 years old. Each became stronger through the transfer portal in the offseason, leading to the first time since 1982 they both ranked in the top 10 in the AP preseason poll.
They will each face the toughest test for this ranking on their home turf. USC (4-0) hosts No. 6 Notre Dame (4-0) Saturday (4 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock) at the sold-out Galen Center while UCLA (4-0) hosts No. #1 South Carolina (4-0). -0) at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday (4 p.m. ET, FS1).
All four teams feature Player of the Year favorites, future WNBA prospects and rosters loaded with championship-level talent. It’s conceivable that all four return to the same city in April when Tampa hosts the 2025 Final Four.
South Carolina, led by junior forward Chloe Kitts, is the favorite to repeat and enters the game on a 43-game winning streak. The Gamecocks are three-time NCAA champions under head coach Dawn Staley and in the midst of a dynastic run.
Yet the brightest star resides in Los Angeles, where JuJu Watkins put the Trojans back on the map two decades after USC icon Lisa Leslie and four since Cheryl Miller did the same. Leslie was the last star to lead a top-10 team at USC, while Miller won the Trojans back-to-back championships in 1983-84. Watkins, a sophomore, became the fourth-fastest player in NCAA history to reach 1,000 career points and could possibly surpass the Division I women’s scoring record held by Caitlin Clark.
UCLA has enjoyed the most consistent success among Los Angeles schools in the 44 years since the NCAA took over women’s sports from the AIAW. Ann Meyers-Drysdale led the Bruins to a historic 1978 AIAW national championship at home in Los Angeles in what was a crowd then record and the first time the AIAW title match was television. But they never reached the NCAA Final Four.
Notre Dame has nine under its belt, winning titles in 2001 and 2018 under former head coach Muffet McGraw. Niele Ivey, a player or assistant coach at each, continued to pay tribute to the school’s line of remarkable guards, including herself. Olivia Miles, Hannah Hidalgo and Sonia Citron combine to form one of the best backcourts in the country.
Recent screenings: Notre Dame is 8-2 in the series, but the teams have not met since the Fighting Irish won Nov. 25, 2011, in the Bahamas. USC’s last victory was at home on November 24, 2006.
Headliners: Watkins, a Los Angeles native, is a generational talent and face of the season, rivaled only by East Coast star Paige Bueckers at UConn. She’s a three-level scorer with size, skill and power who doesn’t have to carry the brunt of the scoring load this season (although her 21.5 points per game still ranks 23rd rank). She also stands out defensively, ranking top 10 in steals (3.8) and blocks (3) per game. Senior forward Kiki Iriafen is a WNBA lottery prospect averaging 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Notre Dame will go at the same pace as its guards, and so far, it’s going pretty well. Guards Hidalgo (25 ppg, 5.3 ppg) and Miles (18.3 ppg, 8 role plays, 6.8 ppg) play well against each other during their first season together, and both are shooting at least 50% overall and 47.4% from 3.
The plot: The Trojans were tested from the start against No. 20 Ole Miss at the Aflac Oui-Play Game in Paris to start the season; This is the first major game for Notre Dame. They are a top-10 offense averaging over 90 points per game, a number that will decline in conference play. The two are still developing chemistry around key transfers in the first zone and will be better in March than in November.
Notre Dame holds the advantage in the backcourt, but is still dealing with a lingering injury problem that has decimated its returning forwards, Maddy Westbeld and Kylee Watson. Graduate transfer Liatu King (17.7 ppg, 73.5 FG%) missed the last game due to the concussion protocol, and 6-foot-5 freshman forward Kate Koval is still adjusting at the varsity game. The Fighting Irish defense will likely look to follow Ole Miss’ lead and shut down everyone around Watkins, forcing the sophomore to carry the team herself.
Recent screenings: South Carolina is 4-1 in the all-time series, with one regular season win and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022-23.
Headliners: Kitts (14 ppg, 6 rpg) is the answer to South Carolina’s lingering question of who would replace WNBA lottery pick Kamilla Cardoso and continue the program’s line of strong positions. Guards MiLaysia Fulwiley, who averages 12.8 points per game while shooting 45.6 FG% from the bench, and fifth-year senior Te-Hina Paopao, a WNBA first-round prospect averaging of 13.4 points per game (51.8 FG%, 40.9 3FG), lead a deep roster.
UCLA’s top-ranked offense runs through junior center Lauren Betts. The first-round prospect is averaging a career-high 21.5 ppg (ranked 23rd in DI) and 11.5 RPG (14). She is one of the most efficient positions in the country, with a success rate of 72.2%, a mark that currently ranks her 25th but is eight percentage points higher than last year when she finished 11th in DI. The Bruins are lacking quality minutes from junior guard Kiki Rice, who missed the first three games and played 11 minutes in her debut against Arkansas, and transfer Charlisse Leger-Walker, who has yet to play. Head coach Cori Close said she “expects” Rice to play against South Carolina.
The plot: South Carolina’s program-best winning streak is on the line, and a loss would surely knock the Gamecocks out of first place given the talent and potential of No. 2 Connecticut. They got off to an awkward start as favorites compared to last year, when the young group of NCAA starters surprised early. Facing the 6-7 Betts is their first major test of size for by-committee forwards Kitts (6-2), Ashlyn Watkins (6-3) and No. 2-ranked recruit Joyce Edwards (6-3). Adhel Tac, 6-5, an early enrollee in January 2024, is the star forward in waiting, but she is coming off an injury and has played 14 total minutes this redshirt freshman season.
The UCLA defense (32.3 opponent FG) faces its first test in trying to stop all of South Carolina’s shooters. The Bruins haven’t been good at limiting their opponents’ 3s, and when the Gamecocks can hit from there, it’s almost impossible to beat them. Timea Gardiner, a junior transfer from Oregon State, and freshman Elina Aarnisalo are 3-point threats to help them maintain the scoring pace.
