3 days Ago By Luca Evans
LOS ANGELES — They trickled in for this Saturday afternoon matinee, the Los Angeles commonfolk and the basketball elite alike, ready for a thunderous encore. Some were here to pay witness to Year Two of the JuJu Watkins Era, rapper Saweetie and program legend Cheryl Miller and WNBA mogul Chiney Ogwumike all perched in courtside seats. Some were here to scout, with Dallas Wings general manager and former Sparks head coach Curt Miller watching patiently for a glimpse of top WNBA prospect Kiki Iriafen.
Some were here for a special sentimentality, with Iriafen’s grandparents sitting a few rows up from Miller, visiting the other side of the world from Nigeria in their first time seeing their granddaughter play collegiate basketball . They all, ultimately, expected a show. This was no longer the crowd of a scrappy underdog, the program that captivated Los Angeles a season ago.
This was the crowd of a powerhouse, advancing expectations, a pregame hype video on the JumboTron emphasizing the lofty national ranking for fourth-year head coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s program. They all, ultimately, could’ve left about 10 minutes in. After a sloppy opener in Paris against 20th-ranked Ole Miss on Monday, this USC women’s basketball program showed no signs of jet lag in their home opener against Cal Poly on Saturday, running an overmatched Mustangs team out of the gym from the tip in a 90-35 win.
After a pull-up jumper by Cal Poly’s Annika Shah a couple minutes in, the Trojans (2-0) promptly embarked on a ridiculous 28-0 run, Gottlieb instituting a lethal full-court press that rapidly devolved into a new form of bullying. Center Rayah Marshall, the local kid who’d stuck it out and sacrificed through four years of Gottlieb’s rebuild, authored a shining first-quarter moment with a layup for the 1,000th point of her career. Watkins, who hit the gas a little too hard at times in a nine-turnover debut against Ole Miss, operated with poise early in the post to draw contact.
Freshman guard Kayleigh Heckel, proving herself a crucial sparkplug off the bench to USC’s 2024-25 hopes, flitted around the hardwood and wreaked havoc in early minutes. The result was a 40-6 advantage after one quarter – the highest-scoring frame in program history, according to USC, since the NCAA switched to 10-minute quarters before the 2015-16 season. On Thursday, Gottlieb affirmed that the gritty win against Ole Miss had “exposed some flaws,” these Trojans committing 26 turnovers – “no excuse,” Gottlieb put it – and getting stuck in Parisian tunnels for long stretches offensively.
They course-corrected remarkably Saturday, with a blend of impressive halfcourt control and blitzing transition offense. As a snaking Heckel and-one finish gave USC a 57-17 lead heading into the break, USC ended the first half forcing 15 turnovers and committing just three. Floor-spacing continued to be a point of concern, USC finishing just 6 of 28 from deep after a 1-for-9 showing against Ole Miss.
But bigs Iriafen, Marshall and others turned jumpers off-iron into interior dominance, the Trojans racking up 20 offensive boards in an end-to-end drubbing of a much smaller Cal Poly (1-1) program. Watkins, who also swatted four shots, and Heckel led USC with 16 apiece and Marshall added 15. Sophomore Malia Samuels shone in the second half with a career-high 12 points and three 3-pointers.
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