The USC Trojans might have already arrived in a certain sense. One could reasonably say they arrived as a better team and a bigger force in women’s college basketball when they throttled No. 7 Ohio State on the first day of this season, November 6, 2023.
However, USC arrived in a fuller and more substantial sense on Sunday in the Galen Center. The Trojans beat No. 2 UCLA. They dealt a very powerful and balanced team its first loss of the season. They are 13-1. They solidified their position as a top-10 team. They will very likely be a top-three or four seed at the 2024 NCAA Tournament. In women’s college basketball, that means USC would get to host a first-round game with a chance to play a second-round game in the Galen Cener as well.
USC is playing in the big leagues now, in terms of playing for high stakes and high seeds and being a Sweet 16-level program with a chance to do more.
The program was good a year ago. It is very, very good right now. It is reaching for greatness.
How easy is it to measure the growth of this program over the past 12 months? Let’s talk about this progression for the Women of Troy: