As a longtime women’s basketball fan and advocate, I am blown away with excitement that USC‘s game versus South Carolina on Saturday is set to be played at Crypto.com Arena and draw a huge crowd.
It’s a reality many of us could not have imagined even just a few years ago. But it’s happening, and it’s deserving of it. It’s one of the most star-studded and narrative-rich events that will happen at Crypto this basketball season.
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Heavyweight coaches
Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks have been in the national spotlight for almost a decade (since their first National Championship season in 2016-17) but USC rose to South Carolina’s level just a few short years ago during the 2023-24 season. Lindsay Gottlieb deserves all the credit in the world for that and so do many of the superstar players on USC’s roster the last three seasons.
Before JuJu Watkins arrived
Before this game to decide who “The Real USC” is, I am reminded of a different hero who was at USC a year before JuJu Watkins came to town and the Trojans made a run to the Elite 8. A hero who specifically brought her National Championship experience at South Carolina to USC in 2022-23 to help the Trojans make the tournament and set the program up for greatness the next season.
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That player is Destiny Littleton. It only feels right to use a game between her two former teams as a reason to celebrate her.
Littleton won a national championship at South Carolina
As I mentioned, Destiny Littleton was part of South Carolina’s 2022 national championship team. She played an important bench role on that South Carolina team, averaging 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game in 31 games.
Littleton has made it clear that Staley made an immense positive impact on her during her three years at South Carolina, on and especially off the court.
Littleton brought championship DNA to USC
To be the best, Littleton and South Carolina had to beat the best. That’s what they did. During that 2021-22 National Championship season, South Carolina beat No. 2 Stanford, No. 2 UConn, No. 5 NC State and No. 15 Duke, and Littleton came up big in all of them.
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She was especially excellent against No. 2 Stanford. She played 18 of the last 20 minutes, sunk game-sealing free throws with 12 seconds left and locked down the Cardinal on the perimeter.
She didn’t lead USC to a national championship; she couldn’t do that on her own after all. But she did lead USC to several big wins, including a 55-46 win against…Cameron Brink, Haley Jones and No. 2 Stanford.
That win helped put the Trojans on the map and no doubt helped USC recruits dream about what was possible under Lindsay Gottlieb at USC.
Littleton’s role expansion at USC
But Littleton’s move to USC wan’t just good for the Trojans. It was good for Littleton’s career, too. She may have drawn on the national championship experience at South Carolina, but she wasn’t coming off the bench for the Trojans.
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Littleton played in and started all 31 of USC’s games, averaging 34.9 minutes per game. She was second on the team with 14 points per game, led the team in assists per game with 3.7, led the squad in 3 pointers made with 56, and finished third in steals with 38.
She was heavily relied on by Lindsay Gottlieb, and one of the main reasons why USC was able to make a run back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014.
Some of Littleton’s USC highlights
Littleton’s memorable season wouldn’t have been complete without a few signature performances.
She had a season-high 21 points and played a whopping 50 minutes in an epic 2OT game against Arizona, which USC ultimately unfortunately lost.
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She drained 6 three-pointers in USC’s 71-54 win over Colorado.
And in that epic upset of No. 2 Stanford, Littleton had a game high 18 points and 6 assists.
Littleton’s legacy
There are lots of people who deserve credit for turning USC women’s basketball into an elite program. But ahead of the USC-South Carolina game, it’s important to remember Littleton.
She came to USC just a few short years ago at a time when South Carolina was a national powerhouse and USC was not, and hadn’t been for a long time. She brought championship experience and leadership to LA and helped Lindsay Gottlieb restore USC to national prominence by setting a vision and spurring her teammates on to a championship standard.
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Now, USC is at South Carolina’s level. They’re both teams full of superstars with two of the best coaches in the business. They get to face off in front of what will likely be a massive Crypto.com arena crowd. And they’ll both probably compete for national titles for years to come.
I bet nobody is happier, and more excited to see this game, than Destiny Littleton.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC v South Carolina recalls women’s basketball star Destiny Littleton
