HARTFORD, Conn. — As USCThe bench emptied on the XL Center floor, with the No. 7 Trojans having defeated the No. 4 University of Connecticut Huskies 72-70, JuJu Watkins’ hands shot into the sky. Reveling in his 25-point performance that led USC past UConn for the first time in school history, Watkins addressed the small section of red-and-yellow-clad fans inside the sold-out stadium and acknowledged his support.
“It was a little different knowing the story of last year and how they sent us home,” Watkins said.
This time the stakes were different. In April, in the Elite Eight, the Huskies eliminated the top-seeded Trojans from the NCAA Tournament. But Saturday night’s two-point victory was significant. Not just for Watkins and the USC senior transfer Kiki Iriafenbut for their coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, who has long admired the program that UConn coach Geno Auriemma has built.
“This is a really significant win, and it’s a really significant win because of the stature of the UConn program and what Geno Auriemma has done for our sport,” Gottlieb said. “Throughout my entire high school (career), this was excellence in basketball. This is what we saw and it challenged us all to want to be better, to find players who want to be better and be that elite. And I don’t think that’s gone away.”
Gottlieb is in his fourth season with the Trojans and aims to build a sustained program similar to the Huskies. A season ago, USC won its second Pac-12 tournament title in program history and made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nearly two decades. During his brief tenure, he has reminded viewers not only of USC’s success story (two national titles and three Final Four appearances in the 1980s, Hall of Fame players such as Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, Cheryl Miller and Tina Thompson), but also what it can be in the present. Watkins, last year’s national freshman and a first-team All-American, is at the center of the latest chapter. Victories like Saturday’s help make lofty aspirations seem more attainable.
Gottlieb grew up outside New York City, but Auriemma didn’t recruit her in high school. However, when he was 15 or 16 years old, he accompanied one of his friends to one of his camps. UConn was always the home draw, and after Saturday’s win, she recalled a trip she took during her senior year at Brown University, in nearby Providence, Rhode Island, when she and her father drove to Storrs to see UConn face Tennessee.
“I was exhausted,” Gottlieb said, “and I was in that building and I saw this atmosphere.”
Saturday was also strident. And Watkins, USC’s star guard, said it might have been the biggest crowd he’s ever played in front of. Nearly 16,000 people crowded inside the XL Center, almost all dressed in navy blue and white.
Still, Watkins added, “just seeing my family here, all the SC fans, it meant a lot.”
If anyone needed reminding, the Trojans’ victory reinforced their status as one of this season’s national title contenders. At 11-1, their only loss was at home against Notre Dame by 13 points. It would have been easy, Gottlieb said, for those within the program to blame each other after that loss in November — for the Trojans to fracture.
“As long as we stick together, this can make us better,” he said later. “And (the loss) has done it in every way.”
Entering Saturday’s win, the Trojans sported the nation’s third-best defense and 15th-ranked offense. They convert in transition (nearly 20 percent of their points come in transition) and off of turnovers (averaging 28 .7 points per game), important measurables that could be very useful in the future. Their victory over the Huskies reinforced that they could go on the road, in one of the most anticipated games of the season, and strike first. They showed they could give up a 13-point halftime lead, lose a point with just under five minutes left and still come back.
“Nobody got off the treadmill,” Gottlieb said.
Of course, having a transcendent star like Watkins helps calm the nerves. Not only did he lead the game in scoring, but he added six rebounds, five assists and three blocks, including one just before halftime on the UConn star. Paige Buecker. Bueckers was prolific in the second half and finished with 22 points, but she also defended Watkins as the USC star got off to a fast start in the first quarter.
“Every scouting report you do or film you watch, it’s very evident that a player can’t guard (Watkins),” Auriemma said. “When he gets a little bit of rhythm, you have to expect him to fail.”
With the score within one possession with just 4:30 left, Watkins recorded 6 of USC’s 8 points and assisted the forward. Raya Marshall in the only basket he didn’t score.
“A lot of the things he does are very difficult, but he makes them look very easy,” Iriafen said. “We all know she’s a superstar, so playing with her definitely takes the pressure off everyone else.”
Any remaining pressure dissipated even further in the postgame locker room. Players sprayed Gottlieb with water as he entered. They jumped together in celebration.
“For me, bringing a team here, knowing we can do it and then doing it is incredibly meaningful,” Gottlieb said. “Really proud of the big win.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
USC Trojans, Connecticut Huskies, women’s college basketball
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