No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 6 USC women’s basketball: Three things to watch in Pac-12 showdown
The USC vs. UCLA showdown on Saturday night also will feature a matchup between Trojans star Juju Watkins, left, and UCLA standout Lauren Betts. (Ryan Sun, Michael Woods / Associated Press)
Pauley Pavilion is quiet for now. Kiki Rice looks at the empty stands after a recent practice. The UCLA guard knows this scene wonât last long with crosstown rival USC coming in 30 hours.
âTo play a game where itâs going to be packed in here, itâs going to be sold out, the noise, the environment, Iâm really excited,â Rice said Friday. âI think thatâs really what I came to UCLA to be a part of.â
The Pac-12 opener for No. 2 UCLA and No. 6 USC is shaping up to be one of the best games in the long rivalry. This is the first time the teams have met as unbeatens and first time theyâve both been ranked since 1985. They havenât met as two top-10 teams since 1981.
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Hype has been building steadily. Both teams made appearances on âSportsCenterâ this week. The Bruins (11-0) announced a sellout Wednesday. USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb was monitoring the rumors of a packed arena long before the official release, and after the Trojans (10-0) dominated UC Riverside at Galen Center on Dec. 10, Gottlieb told more than 4,000 USC fans that on Dec. 30, âwe want to make sure itâs full of cardinal and gold.â
âWe donât shy away from the excitement around it,â Gottlieb said last week after the Trojans finished the nonconference slate with a win against Long Beach State. âI think both teams have earned it. They’re really tremendously good, we know that, but to have the rivalry game, the proximity be so close and both teams to be so good and so exciting is just really good for womenâs basketball.â
Here are three things to watch:
On the big stage
USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb, left, and guard JuJu Watkins react after a win over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in November. (Ryan Sun / Associated Press)
Two days before coaching against each other in the biggest game of the season, Gottlieb and UCLA coach Cori Close were recruiting side by side. They paused to celebrate a rare rivalry moment that both teams could celebrate as a victory.
âWe want to look at this for years and go, ‘This is when Southern California basketball hit a major tipping point,’â Close said. âI think everybody wins in this scenario.â
While both programs celebrate the growth of the womenâs game in L.A., where womenâs college basketball has struggled to break through in a crowded market, Close admitted the balance between appreciating the massive opportunity and then staying focused enough to take advantage of it on the court is âdelicate, honestly.â
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âI have really been focusing on trying to eliminate as many distractions from their minds as possible,â Close said. âI just want our players to focus on the consistency of what it takes to be their very best. Whatâs the best version of themselves, whatâs the game plan and take care of whatâs between the lines.â
Players are on winter break and free from academic stresses, but distractions still encroach. National media opportunities increase. Playersâ friends and family are asking for tickets and wondering where to park on campus, expecting a logistical nightmare of more than 10,000 fans.
Sophomore guard Londynn Jones said she was able to secure just 12 tickets for her family. Everyone else hoping to watch the Riverside native had to hunt on their own. But the sharpshooting guard averaging 13.4 points is still expecting a large contingent of familiar faces.
âBeing a Cali girl, this is something a little girl dreams of,â Jones said.
Cloud nine?
UCLA coach Cori Close instructs her players during a win over Ohio State on Dec. 18. (Jay LaPrete / Associated Press)
UCLA is going for its ninth consecutive win against its crosstown rival, which would match the longest winning streak for either team in the series when USC won nine straight between 1992-1996. But the Bruins have not always been dominant during the stretch. Both of last season’s games were decided on the final possession as UCLA won both by a combined four points.
Close has revisited the film from both games, but that USC team was focused more on operating through the post. Freshman JuJu Watkins has completely changed a USC attack that is more balanced.
âTheyâre such a better offensive team and theyâre so different,â Close said. âThe challenge will be how they really defend. I actually think both teams are really, really good offensively. ⊠Weâre all going to find ways to put the ball in the basket if we take care of the basketball, but who really locks in on the defensive end, I think thatâs really where itâs going to happen. ⊠Youâre not going to hold JuJu scorelessâ
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The star freshman is the second-leading scorer in the nation at 26.8 points. But USC showed its scoring depth against Long Beach State when Watkins was out because of an illness and grad transfer McKenzie Forbes scored a career-high 35 points.
UCLAâs 90.5 points per game ranks seventh nationally and second in the conference. The Bruins have five double-digit scorers, led by Lauren Betts, who averages 16.9 points.
Post presence
UCLA’s Lauren Betts, left, and Charisma Osborne celebrate during a win over Florida State on Dec. 10. (Jessica Hill / Associated Press)
Betts’ arrival from Stanford has been the biggest boon for the Bruins, who have matched their highest ranking in program history despite a grueling nonconference schedule that included road games at Ohio State and Arkansas and a neutral game against longtime power Connecticut. The 6-foot-7 center leads the country in shooting percentage at 77.1%.
Close called Betts a âunicornâ for her ability to move on defense at her size, allowing the Bruins to switch screens and trust her against even smaller guards, but Betts won’t be the only strong inside presence on the court Saturday.
USCâs Rayah Marshall, a 6-foot-4 junior averaging a double-double with 14.3 points and 10 rebounds, is âan X-factor that not enough people talk about,â Close said.
âHer motor is night and day different than coming out of high school,â she continued. âThat takes a lot of discipline on Rayahâs part but also credit to their staff.â
Marshall, a former McDonaldâs All-American out of Lynwood High, was named to the All-Pac-12 team and the conferenceâs all-defensive team last season after setting the USC single-season blocks record, eclipsing Lisa Leslie.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
