HARTFORD, Conn. – Eight months ago in Portland, Oregon, Paige Bueckers and No. 3-seeded UConn defeated JuJu Watkins and No. 1-seeded USC for a spot in the 2024 Final Four, prevailing in a showdown epic between two of the biggest stars in women's basketball.
On a cold Saturday night in Hartford in front of a crowd of nearly 16,000, USC finally avenged that loss in one of the most anticipated matchups of the 2024-25 season.
The No. 7 Trojans staved off a furious comeback by the No. 4 Huskies to emerge with a 72-70 victory at the XL Center, earning their first big win of the season.
“It feels great to always have the voiceover,” Watkins said. “I think it was a little different knowing the story of last year and how they sent us home.”
He added: “It was fantastic to see everyone who came. I don't think I've ever played in front of so many people.”
USC dominated the first half and led by as many as 18 early in the third quarter before UConn stormed back and took a brief lead midway through the quarter. Neither team led by more than three points in the final 6:21 of the game, but Watkins found Rayah Marshall for the go-ahead basket with 1:24 left.
The big names came through in a game that was hyped for its star power: Freshman standout Sarah Strong and Bueckers, the 2021 national player of the year and presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, each finished with 22 points for UConn. Impact transfer Kiki Iriafen scored 16 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists for USC. Watkins led all scorers with 25 points, 15 of which came in the first half to help USC build its sizable lead.
“It's just a testament that when you give women a platform, we're going to perform,” Watkins said. “I think tonight was a great game… It was just beautiful to be a part of. And I couldn't imagine watching it.”
Watkins' 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals made her the only player in the last 15 seasons with a stat line of 25-5-5-3 against an Associated Press top-five opponent on the road . It was also her fourth career 25-point game against an AP top-five team, the most of any player in the last two seasons.
“I think Coach Lindsay [Gottlieb] “I said it best,” Iriafen said. “A lot of the things he does are very difficult, but he makes them look very easy.”
Watkins, last year's national freshman, has fueled the resurgence of USC's program, which won championships in 1983 and 1984. In April, the then-upstart Trojans were minutes away from returning to the Final Four for the first time since 1986. before the Huskies, winners of 11 national championships and participants in 23 Final Fours, closed strong.
With Iriafen and the No. 1 freshman class now surrounding Watkins, the Trojans are hoping for a different outcome this season. Victories like this could be a step in that direction.
“This is a really significant win, and it's a really significant win because of the stature of the UConn program and what Geno Auriemma has done for our sport,” Gottlieb said after the program's first win over UConn. “I don't care that they haven't won a championship in a couple of years. There's still a way they prepare, a way they play, that makes you better and made us better.”
The Trojans have just one loss this season: at home against Notre Dame on Nov. 23, in a game that wasn't as close in the second half as the final 13-point deficit indicated.
But the team stuck together afterwards and used the experience to make them better.
“We knew what it felt like to be in such an important game and not have it go the way we wanted. We didn't want the same thing to happen today,” Iriafen said. “So we were very aware that we had to step on the gas at halftime… That's the biggest improvement we've made since the first game, just coming together, even when things get tough, and understanding that we practice every “Today We've done the work and we can rely on that work.”
Freshman Kennedy Smith returned to the USC fold for the first time since Nov. 15. His defensive energy and ability to hit 3-pointers made the Trojans “a more complete team,” Gottlieb said. USC was 9 of 16 from 3-point range that night, with Smith making three of the shots, compared to UConn's 6 of 23 clip.
Senior Azzi Fudd (knee sprain) also returned for the Huskies and played eight minutes after missing the last three games, including UConn's only other loss, to Notre Dame.
Auriemma said he was proud of his team's reaction in the second half, but lamented the way his team played in the first 20 minutes.
“I thought the running portion in the first half was as bad as I've seen in a few years here in Connecticut,” he said.
Strong, the favorite for Freshman of the Year, fouled on a 3-point shot with five seconds left in the game, giving her a chance to tie the score, but she missed her second free throw. After intentionally missing the third, the Huskies' final shot attempt didn't come close to falling.
“Some people run away from the flame and other kids run towards it. She wants to be in that situation,” Auriemma said of Strong. “She enjoys that situation. Nobody is more disappointed than her now, in that moment. But I would put her in that moment in every game for the rest of the season and have confidence that she will come out ahead.”
ESPN Research contributed to this report.