No. 1 UCLA takes unbeaten record into crosstown showdown against sixth-ranked USC and JuJu Watkins

By Canadian Press on February 12, 2025.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Top-ranked UCLA was seeing red at practice on Wednesday, with its scout team donning the colors of crosstown rival Southern California. The sixth-ranked Trojans’ fight song blared in the Bruins’ gym, too.

It was all part of preparing for Thursday night’s sold-out showdown at Galen Center, where JuJu Watkins and the Trojans host the Bruins, who at 23-0 are the nation’s last remaining undefeated women’s team.

“I’m sort of calling it a Final Four dress rehearsal,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “We’re not playing for Feb. 13.”

The women have the spotlight to themselves that night in Los Angeles with no pro or other major college games on tap. The game will stream on Peacock.

“What a privileged, pressurized opportunity,” Close said. “Let’s give them a good show.”

USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said, “It’s going to be a big task, but I know our players will lock in on that. We know we’re going to need everyone to do something hard.”

The Bruins are the Big Ten’s top offensive team, while the Trojans are the top defensive team. UCLA is 11-0 in league play, while the Trojans are 11-1 and 21-2 overall, their best start since the 1982-83 season. USC is 3-1 against top-10 opponents.

Lauren Betts, the 6-foot-7 Bruins center, averages a team-leading 19.6 points (second in the Big Ten), 9.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocks. The junior is shooting 63% from the field, third-best in the Big Ten and ninth nationally.

“I say all the time we have the best post player in the country,” UCLA guard Londynn Jones said.

Watkins leads USC and the league in scoring at 23.9 points per game. Senior transfer Kiki Iriafen averages 18 points and 8.4 rebounds.

“It’s just really cool just to be in this environment,” Jones said. “The talent is amazing.”

Watkins, though, has been going through a rough stretch recently.

Her two worst shooting efforts have come in the last two weeks at home. Watkins was 5 of 21 against Ohio State last week and 7 of 24 against Minnesota on Jan. 30. She’s just 4-of-25 from 3-point range in that span, too.

“I don’t think we were in a position last year where we could win games without her scoring as much as she had to score,” Gottlieb said. “We’re built a little differently this year.”

The Bruins have been atop the AP Top 25 for 12 weeks, claiming the top spot after upsetting then-No. 1 South Carolina at Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 24.

“We try not to look at it too much and have it affect us because our mentality would be the same even if we weren’t ranked No. 1,” guard Gabriela Jaquez said.

UCLA has lost its last two meetings with USC, including a double-overtime defeat in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals last year, the schools’ last before joining the Big Ten this season.

“It’ll be the tougher, more together team that wins,” Close said.

The teams meet again on March 1 in their regular-season finale and that game at Pauley Pavilion is already sold out, UCLA said Wednesday.

“Every game in the Big Ten right now is contested, so much can happen here down the stretch,” Close said. “The easiest way to get distracted is to get too far down the road.”

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Beth Harris, The Associated Press

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