Trojans Women's Basketball Exhibition Gets Win in Watkins Return

LOS ANGELES — In their first open exhibition game at the Galen Center since 2022, the USC Trojans Women's Basketball squad did not disappoint against the Cal Golden Bears in a close-knit 78-76 win. 

The main story heading into this one was the return of All-American guard JuJu Watkins. She had missed all of last year solely to focus on recovery from her torn ACL during the NCAA tournament the previous season and was entering this season playing alongside fresh new faces. 

Of course, Watkins kicked off the scoring for the Women of Troy, driving in for a layup assisted by Kennedy Smith. The first quarter was hit-and-miss for both teams, as USC finished up 14-10 after Watkins sank a pair of free throws. 

Cal made their presence felt in the second quarter by way of the three-pointer. 

The Golden Bears went 5-for-7 on three-point attempts, and Gottlieb had to call two timeouts in the second frame to try to stop the bleeding. Despite the abundance of triples being knocked down, Watkins and true freshman Saniyah Hall kept USC right beside Cal, with a combined 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting. 

Watkins scored her third made basket in the final seconds of the first half to give herself 10 points and lifted the Women of Troy back to the locker room with a 33-33 tie with Cal. 

Kicking off the third, the Trojans' offense came alive, outscoring Cal 22-18 in the quarter. They produced half of their points in the paint (10) and had Hall leading the way with 15 points by the end of the quarter. 

The fourth quarter was as tight as ever, with every second winding down and a back-and-forth showing on both sides, testing each other's depths. 

Again, the Golden Bears utilized their three-point masquerade, knocking down another four made triples, ending the game with nine in total. On the other end, USC picked up right where they left off in terms of points in the paint and added 18 more to their previous quarter total. 

Hall continued to be a force on offense, scoring nine points in the forth quarter and ending her afternoon leading the Trojans with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor with six rebounds and a team-high five steals. 

Both Watkins and Davidson had 18 points and a combined nine rebounds to their credit. 

"It was really good for our team to get out here and have to face the environment with some adversity," Gottlieb said following the win. 

Looking ahead, the Women of Troy kick off their season on Nov. 2 in Las Vegas to play the UNLV Rebels, before coming back home to the Galen Center and play their home opener on Nov. 8 against the Utah State Aggies.