This is the biggest game of the year for USC women’s basketball thus far. There’s really no other way to slice it when the Trojans are playing the No. 1 team in the country, the defending national champions, a team that many experts believe could finish the season as undefeated repeat national champions, the UConn Huskies.
The Trojans are obviously elite in their own right, ranked No. 16 in the country and hoping to make another deep NCAA tournament run. The Trojans also have a 19-game home winning streak; they are one of the best teams at defending home court in the entire country. But this matchup is so much more than a “good” team trying to take down a “great” team. There’s so much intrigue that’s been building on each of these two teams that makes this matchup so much more meaningful.
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Here are five things to watch as USC aims for what would be one of the biggest wins in program history against UConn:
The newfound rivalry
In just a few short years, the USC and UConn women’s basketball teams have become some of the fiercest non conference rivals in the entire country.
It started with a matchup in the 2024 NCAA Tournament Elite 8, which the Huskies won 80-73. Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards combined for 52 points to end the Trojans’ season and advance to the Final Four, where the Huskies ultimately lost to Caitlin Clark and Iowa.
Then, the Trojans got revenge on the Huskies during the 2024-25 regular season in Storrs. JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen led the Trojans to a narrow 72-70 over Bueckers, Sarah Strong and the Huskies.
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Finally, improbably the two teams met in the Elite 8 AGAIN for the second season in a row this past March. The Trojans unfortunately lost with Watkins sidelined. Rayah Marshall put together a superhuman effort in her last collegiate game, scoring 23 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome 68 combined points from Bueckers, Strong and Kaitlyn Chen. The Huskies won 78-64 and went on to win the national championship.
Now, the two teams get to play again, for the fourth time in the past three seasons. Bueckers is in the WNBA now, and Watkins is still hurt, but is still plenty of players on each roster who have experienced this rivalry and plenty of star power. There’s every reason to believe this game will be just as fierce and just as unforgettable as the previous three iterations of this new rivalry.
Kayleigh Heckel’s return to Galen Center
For the second straight game, USC will have to take on a former Trojan at Galen Center. And if Avery Howell’s return in the last game was any indication, Kayleigh Heckel’s return won’t be without intrigue.
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There was a play in particular during USC-Washington where Kennedy Smith ferociously blocked a Howell layup attempt that Trojan fans sort of rallied behind on the internet. Could a similar play happen between Heckel and her former team?
Heckel scored 6.1 points per game in 16.9 minutes per game for USC last season. So far this season, she’s averaging 7.7 points in 20.2 minutes for the Huskies. She’s coming off her best game in a Husky uniform: she scored 16 points, pulled down 6 rebounds and dished out 5 assists in UConn’s win versus DePaul last Sunday.
Heckel has always been a high-energy, high-emotion player. At her best, she can be a pest on both the offensive and defensive end similar to Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame.
Will Heckel take advantage of USC’s ballhandling struggles and her familiarity with Lindsay Gottlieb’s system and be an X-factor for the Huskies? Or will Lindsay Gottlieb’s knowledge of her game allow the Trojans to lock her down and make her a non factor?
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It will be dramatic either way. And USC and UConn fans will be all over social media talking about it.
Will Jazzy Davidson rise to the occasion?
USC has played in four ranked matchups already this season, and they are 2-2 against teams featured in the AP Poll.
The two wins were also Jazzy Davidson’s two best games of the season. Davidson had 21 points, 4 rebounds and the game winning shot in USC’s 69-68 upset of No. 9 NC State back in November.
Then, in USC’s win against Washington last Sunday, Davidson scored a career-high 22 points on 10-21 shooting and pulled down 12 rebounds. Her efforts were vital to USC-s 59-50 win, especially the fact that she had such an efficient scoring outing on a night when points were so hard to come by.
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On the flip side, USC’s two ranked losses (their only two losses of the season) were Davidson’s two worst games of the season. In the Trojans’ loss to No. 2 South Carolina Davidson managed only 8 points, her lowest scoring outing of the season.
In No. 24 Notre Dame’s upset of USC, Davidson matched her second-lowest scoring total of the season (14 points) and turned the ball over 8 times.
So far, in big games, the Trojans have excelled when Davidson excels and faltered when Davidson struggles.
Will she elevate her game to a new level and lead USC to a win in the best game of her young career? Or will Geno Auriemma and the Huskies employ the perfect gameplan to hold Davidson in check?
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Can anyone step up and defend Sarah Strong?
Sarah Strong terrorized USC in both of the Trojans’ matchups with the Huskies last season. 22 points on 53% shooting and 13 rebounds during the regular season matchup, 22 points on 61% shooting and 17 rebounds in the Elite 8.
And that was with 3 elite post defenders on the Trojan roster: Kiki Iriafen, Rayah Marshall and Clarice Akunwafo. All of those players are gone.
Pay attention to USC’s post players and how they match up with Strong, because the Trojans will need an answer for her defensively to compete in this game. Those players: Vivian Iwuchukwu, Laura Williams, Yakiya Milton, Dayana Mendes and Gerda Raulušaityte.
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Raulušaityte’s play in this game is especially intruiging, because she is coming off her best game of the season against Washington. She scored a career-high 8 points and pulled down 8 rebounds, playing a key role in the Trojans’ win over the Huskies.
Can she build on that performance, or will someone else need to step up?
Something to prove for Londynn Jones
Londynn Jones matched up against UConn last season…but as a member of the rival UCLA Bruins, not a member of the Trojans. UCLA played UConn in the Final Four and the Huskies blew out the Bruins, 85-51.
In that game, Jones was held scoreless in 15 minutes of action. She attempted only 1 shot and missed it. She was reduced to a non factor as she watched UCLA’s season and her own Bruin career come to an end.
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Jones transferred to USC from UCLA not because the Trojans are clearly poised to have more team success than the Bruins this season (though we certainly hope that will be the case). She came to USC to take her game to a new level individually and showcase new aspects of her skillset that she couldn’t at UCLA. Lindsay Gottlieb pointed out as much during USC’s first postgame press conference following the season opening win against New Mexico State.
She’s been a leader and key scorer for the Trojans so far this season. She’s certainly going to be asked to take more than 1 shot versus UConn this time around. This is her chance to prove to UCLA fans, UConn fans and USC fans alike that the Final Four does not define her and she is a star at the collegiate level.
There’s a lot to prove for both teams…so make sure you tune in!
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC women’s basketball plays UConn on Saturday at Galen Center
