USC women’s basketball – Page 7

USC, JuJu Watkins turned the tables on Colorado and Jaylyn Sherrod

USC didn’t just avenge the Colorado loss from January; the Trojans won the way CU defeated them a month ago.

USC did indeed avenge its loss to Colorado from earlier in the season. The Trojans’ victory on Friday night in Los Angeles enabled the Women of Troy to split the season series against the Buffaloes, who had defeated USC in Boulder on January 21. Winning the game is what mattered most to USC, but the way in which the Trojans won this game had to be particularly satisfying for them. They really did turn the tables on Colorado in an instance of basketball role reversal.

In order to understand this, you need to go back to that January 21 game before returning to Friday night’s action.

Let’s take a look:

JuJu Watkins, Lindsay Gottlieb react to huge USC women’s basketball win over Colorado

JuJu Watkins is enjoying the journey and knows there is more room to grow for herself and this team.

USC women’s basketball continues to rise and improve. The Trojans beat Colorado, 87-81, on Friday night in the Galen Center. They are now 21-4 on the season and just one game out of the lead in the Pac-12 after Stanford got upset by Arizona. USC is in the hunt for a No. 1 seed in the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament. It has been a really good season for this group, led by superstar JuJu Watkins under the direction of head coach Lindsay Gottlieb.

JuJu and Gottlieb reacted to this important win along with other USC players and the beat writers who cover this team, which will host NCAA Tournament games one month from now:

Kayla Padilla once again answers the call for USC women’s basketball

Kayla Padilla’s unselfishness and efficiency helped USC in a big way against Colorado.

JuJu Watkins is the superstar on this USC women’s basketball team. McKenzie Forbes is the 1-B to JuJu’s 1-A most of the time, and she was very much the main supporting actress in USC’s 87-81 win over Colorado on Friday night in the Galen Center. Yet, as much as USC gained from its premier duo, this win was more the product of three players than two. Kayla Padilla was a central, not peripheral, part of this victory.

Padilla exists in the background partly because of the enormity of JuJu Watkins’ superstardom, but also because her smaller frame makes it harder for her to create her own shot against taller defenders. McKenzie Forbes and JuJu can both play over the top more than Padilla can.

It has been important for USC’s offense to give Padilla opportunities to shoot. Friday we were reminded why that is the case. Let’s go into the details on her performance against Colorado:

McKenzie Forbes dazzles for USC in complete performance versus Colorado

McKenzie Forbes learned a lot from the first USC-Colorado game of the season one month ago.

When JuJu Watkins fouled out against Colorado on January 21 in Boulder, USC had to play the final six minutes of regulation without its best player. McKenzie Forbes had to handle the ball more than she usually does in those final minutes. It was a tough adjustment for the veteran, whose turnovers helped Colorado beat the Trojans, 63-59.

We wrote about that game:

“USC watched JuJu Watkins foul out with under six minutes left in regulation on a highly questionable foul call. Playing the final five-plus minutes without their superstar player was expectedly rough for the Trojans, but they can certainly learn from the experience. McKenzie Forbes committed multiple turnovers against Colorado’s defensive pressure with JuJu out. Those turnovers led to Colorado baskets and were important in shaping the ultimate four-point final margin for the Buffs.”

McKenzie Forbes has bounced back from that game. She has learned from that game. Given a chance to face Colorado a second time, Forbes played miles better versus the Buffaloes on Friday night. She was instrumental in leading USC to an 87-81 win which has the Trojans in position to contend for the Pac-12 title and a top seed at the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament. Let’s say a little more about Forbes’ performance below:

Surprising Stanford loss puts USC women’s basketball in contention for Pac-12 championship

USC got some unexpected help from Arizona. Now we have a true scramble to the finish line in the Pac-12.

We haven’t discussed the possibility that USC women’s basketball could win the Pac-12 title for one simple reason: It didn’t look remotely possible. USC entered this weekend two games behind Stanford in the Pac-12 race. While USC keeps winning, Stanford faced undermanned Arizona on Friday before facing bottom-rung Arizona State on Sunday and then a weak Oregon team next weekend. Yes, Stanford has the very tough assignment of facing Oregon State on February 29, but the Cardinal needed to lose two games, not just one, to give USC any chance of winning the Pac-12 title. That didn’t seem likely.

Guess what? Stanford, up by nine late in the fourth quarter, unraveled in the final minutes and lost 68-61 at home to Arizona. USC just got the result it needed to make a run at the Pac-12 title. Let’s take you through the details of a suddenly more cluttered and dramatic Pac-12 race:

USC women’s basketball is now a frontline contender for a No. 1 seed in 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament

This is getting serious. USC is in better position for a top seed for reasons which go beyond the win over Colorado.

The USC Trojans, one week ago, had an outside chance at a No. 1 seed for the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament. It was possible but generally unlikely. Now, after beating Colorado on Friday night, USC’s odds of rising to a top seed are considerably higher. We won’t yet go so far as to say it’s probable that the Women of Troy will earn a No. 1 seed, but now it’s not really a fringe scenario. It’s now very realistic that USC can move up to the top of the bracket.

Let’s go through some details which underscore why USC now has a significantly better chance of getting a top seed in March Madness:

JuJu Watkins delivers another vintage bounce-back game for USC, adds to her aura

JuJu Watkins is money in the bank when she follows a difficult game. She doesn’t have two bad games in a row.

The great players respond when challenged. It’s a simple but profound way of appreciating the very best athletes in any sport. When they get punched in the mouth or have a tough day at the office, they punch back in the next game when everyone is wondering how they will react to a little adversity and failure. JuJu Watkins is already demonstrating, as a USC freshman, that when she has a bad game, you can take it to the bank that her next game will be special.

Remember when JuJu went 8 of 27 in the loss to Washington? She scored 51 points in her next game at Stanford.

JuJu hit just 6 of 32 shots against Oregon State this past Sunday. How did she respond? How’s 42 points against Colorado on Friday?

Let’s look at this masterful performance and some of its most important details:

USC delivers best offensive game of the season in huge win over Colorado

USC could not have played much better on offense than it did versus Colorado. The timing was exquisite.

The USC Trojans picked a mighty good time to have their best offensive game of the 2023-2024 women’s college basketball season. USC became a team of flamethrowers in an 87-81 win over Colorado in a game which became a surprising shootout. For the sake of comparison, the first game between these two teams in Boulder one month ago (January 21) was a 63-59 slugfest. This rematch was anything but. It was a hot-shooting, free-flowing display of offense — maybe not an NBA All-Star Game, but certainly a lot more wide open than anyone was ready to anticipate.

How great an offensive performance was this for USC? Several details immediately jump off the page, and they all flowed through USC’s three best offensive players:

JuJu Watkins gets big-league test against Colorado

JuJu Watkins, like all elite players, loves a challenge. Colorado should give her one on Friday. Here’s what to watch for:

JuJu Watkins has had a lot of special, memorable and unique games in her freshman season at USC. The game she played at Colorado on January 21 in Boulder was unique in a very bad way. That game against Colorado was the only game out of 24 in which JuJu Watkins fouled out. Not only did she foul out; she fouled out with nearly six minutes left. USC fought well but imperfectly with JuJu out. The Trojans had a chance to lead or tie in the final minute but ultimately fell short, 63-59.

As USC plays Colorado in a rematch on Friday night in Los Angeles, Watkins will definitely be motivated — not just to win, the central goal, but to prove a point and to show the discipline she lacked against Colorado. There’s a lot to consider about JuJu Watkins entering this game. Let’s take you through some of the most interesting JuJu Watkins plot points against Colorado, helping you to watch for certain details during Friday night’s game:

High stakes, high emotions, high profile: USC women’s basketball prepares for Colorado clash

This is a big-time women’s college basketball game: No. 7 USC versus No. 11 Colorado with a lot on the line.

This is the kind of game college basketball players dream of playing. It’s No. 7 USC versus No. 11 Colorado in the latest of many Pac-12 games to feature two top-15 women’s basketball teams. The Friday night showdown in the Galen Center carries very big stakes and should be one of the fiercest games USC fans will see all season long.

USC will not host Pac-12-leading Stanford this season. The only game against the Cardinal came in Palo Alto. USC already did host Oregon State, but that game was played before the Beavers made their ascent in the Pac-12 and in the national rankings. The UCLA game is the one home game which had as much or more buzz than this game does. USC-Colorado is a big-time game loaded with all sorts of storylines. Let’s offer you a sense of how large this game is and what USC needs to do to win it: