5 things to watch as USC women’s basketball takes on rival UCLA

We are really privileged as Trojan fans that we get to witness our team playing in so many of the biggest women’s basketball games on the planet every year. USC women’s basketball’s annual matchups versus UCLA have become the most consistent annual example of this. I’d argue that the USC-UCLA women’s basketball rivalry is the best in the sport right now because both teams are so good and feature such popular star players.

LA sports culture

To take such a prominent place in Los Angeles popular culture like this women’s basketball rivalry has, it has to be pretty special.

The two teams have gone back and forth the last few years, with a split 4-4 record in their last 8 meetings. USC has won 4 of the last 5 rivalry matchups, but the Bruins got the best of the Trojans in their most recent meeting, the 2025 Big Ten Tournament Championship game.

USC clearly the underdog

For the first time since the 2022-23 season, the Trojans are clearly the underdogs in this game. Can the Bruins take advantage of their clear strengths? Or can USC defy the scouting report and surprise the Bruins?

Here are five things to watch as the Trojans take on the Bruins on Saturday in their first Big Ten road game of the season:

Can anyone in USC’s front court handle Lauren Betts?

This has been an obvious storyline since the season even began. The 6’7» Betts, projected to be a top 5 pick in this upcoming WNBA draft, is the most unguardable player in the sport, and has been for a few years now.

But USC has been one of the few teams that has been able to slow Betts down the last few seasons. She has never scored more than 18 points against the Trojans. Last season, a committee of defenders including Kiki Iriafen, Rayah Marshall, Clarice Akunwafo and even JuJu Watkins worked around the clock making scoring very difficult for Betts.

None of those players will be on the court for this years’ game. Instead, USC has a lot of inexperienced forwards.

Is anyone up to the task of defending Betts and keeping her off the glass? Will it be Gerda Raulušaityte, USC’s most trusted front court defender this season? Will Jazzy Davidson take a turn defending Betts like Watkins did last season?

Beating UCLA will be a tall task for USC but if the Trojans can force Betts into a poor shooting night, an upset win becomes a lot more likely.

How will Londynn Jones’s return to Pauley go over?

Guard Londynn Jones, the Trojans’ second-leading scorer averaging 12.5 points per game, transferred to USC from UCLA this past season.

Bruin fans are not happy with her, obviously. Anytime a player transfers to the crosstown rival, that is hard to swallow for a loyal fanbase.

Will she be booed by UCLA fans? If she is, will that motivate her and get in her head?

Trojan fans would like nothing more than to see Jones have her best game of the season, surpassing her season high of 28 points and silencing the Bruin crowd.

Can Kennedy Smith build on her strong performance against Nebraska?

Kennedy Smith opened the season in a very long, very frustrating offensive slump. It didn’t matter who the Trojans were playing; they played some non conference opponents with pretty weak defenses. Smith just couldn’t get her offense going.

Until USC played Nebraska on Monday. Smith scored a season-high 17 points on a very efficient 8-12 shooting clip.

If Smith can prove that her game against Nebraska wasn’t a fluke, that she has made adjustments and that her struggles throughout non conference play were just a slump, that would be a huge boost to the Trojan offense. Numbers wise, a consistent 15-20 points from Smith on 50% or better shooting would take her game, and the Trojans, to the next level.

How will Jazzy Davidson put her stamp on this rivalry?

As I mentioned, this rivalry has become such a box office event in recent years due in large part to the popularity of the women’s basketball stars who have played in it. JuJu Watkins, Kiki Iriafen, Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Mackenzie Forbes, Gabriela Jaquez.

Jazzy Davidson is the latest big name addition to that list. The No. 1 freshman in the country has been USC’s clear X factor in big games. Her best games of USC’s season have come in their ranked wins. Her worst games of the season came in USC’s three ranked losses.

Will she shine in arguably the biggest game of her career thus far? If she does, it will add another unforgettable chapter to this incredible rivalry.

Will UCLA’s 3-point shooting give the Bruins the edge?

UCLA is just way better at three-point shooting than USC on paper. It’s not particularly close. The Bruins have shot 37.5% on threes this season while the Trojans have shot only 30.1%. UCLA has two players shooting 40% or better on threes and USC has 0. To expand the criteria, UCLA has four players shooting 35% or better on threes and USC has only 2.

If this game is a defensive battle like I expect it to be, three pointers are going to become especially crucial. If the Bruins can just hit 2-4 more open threes than the Trojans can, that could be the difference between winning and losing.

USC needs to put a lot of effort into making the Bruins uncomfortable beyond the arc, and look for smart, open three point opportunities themselves as well.

That’s the name of the game for USC in general. UCLA has most of the advantages on paper. The Trojans will need to put in an all-out effort and punch above their weight class a little bit.

Fortunately, underdog stories are what make college sports so exciting. And, the Trojans have already proven over the years that with Lindsay Gottlieb on the USC sideline, winning any game is possible.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC women’s basketball faces UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday