NCAAW: USC begins JuJu-less season with dominant win

No. 18 USC started life without JuJu Watkins with a win over New Mexico State, beating the Aggies 87-48 at home.

While Watkins is out for the year, her presence still permeates the Galen Center. Watkins jerseys can be seen everywhere inside the arena, and before the opening tip, she was presented with the John R. Wooden Award.

But once the game began, USC reminded everyone why they—even without Watkins—are ranked No. 18 in the nation.

Freshman Jazzy Davidson shined in her collegiate debut. She had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Newcomer Kara Dunn also had a strong showing. The Georgia Tech transfer scored 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Off the bench, the former UCLA Bruin, Londynn Jones, had a big night, scoring 16.

“We’re excited to start 2025,” head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “I’m really excited about this team for a lot of different reasons. I think tonight we showed some things that we’re capable of, and also there’s a ton of areas to improve.”

How USC overwhelmed New Mexico State

Kennedy Smith got the scoring started for USC, and after a Dunn free throw, the Trojans found themselves up 3-0. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Trojans. They exchanged baskets with the Aggies during the majority of the opening period, with the score being even at 13 with 3:08 left to play.

That’s when USC talent really started to shine.

Smith and Jones combined to close the period on a 7-0 run to enter the second quarter ahead 20-13.

Lucia Yenes started the scoring in the second quarter for New Mexico State, and USC countered with a make at the charity stripe by Dunn. Early on, the Trojans had twice as many field goal attempts as the Aggies.

Davidson gave USC its first field goal of the second quarter, and USC began rolling once again. On the defensive end, they not only were forcing turnovers, but also forced the Aggies into multiple shot clock violations where the visitors failed to even get a shot up. Midway through the quarter, USC was by 13.

The rest of the half was Trojan dominance. Dayana Mendes made a pair of 3s, and Davidson kept eating from the line. At the halftime break, ahead by 22 points, it was clear the result was already secured.

The third was more of the same. Davidson and Jones kept piling on, and USC’s lead ballooned to as much as 33 points.

New Mexico State, however, didn’t stop putting up a fight. Yenes continued providing offense for the Aggies with a 3-pointer and a couple of layups. Iyana Beh scored in the final minute for New Mexico State, but USC stayed in front 66-39.

In the fourth, Vivian Iwuchukwu’s layup and another Davidson free throw got USC off to a strong start to the closing quarter. Yenes banked a 3 for New Mexico State, but the Trojans responded with a 3 of their own from Rian Forestier. Iwuchukwu scored shortly after, Dunn hit a 3 and with Jones scoring two more from the line, it was a 10-0 USC run.

With the Trojans ahead 80-46 with 4:11 left in the game, Gottlieb emptied the bench.

What does the win mean for USC?

USC has started well with this win. However, more questions remain.

Will they be able to dominate against the best teams in the nation? Can they be successful with Davidson as a top scorer? Should Jones be starting? We’ll get the answers over time, but right now, all that matters to USC is they are now 1-0 and ready for more wins.

“It’s going to be really fun to coach this group and see how good we can get, but we’ll take this one and we’ll go back to work and get ready for the next one,” Gottlieb said after the win.

That next one will be a much tougher test as USC will face the No. 8 NC State Wolfpack on the road on Sunday.