LOS ANGELES — For decades, the USC/UCLA basketball rivalry was something of an afterthought.
While the Trojans and Bruins competed for league titles — and even national championships — in a variety of Olympic sports, the women’s basketball programs rarely rose to those levels, and they never peaked at the same point. In the 20 years preceding last season, there hadn’t been a single game between the rivals when both teams were ranked.
Those days are firmly in the past, as No. 6 USC gave No. 1 UCLA its first loss of the season with a 71-60 win Thursday night.
Both USC and UCLA have been top-10 teams in each of their last four meetings, including a double-overtime Pac-12 tournament semifinal thriller last March, in which the Trojans eked a win out en route to the conference tournament crown.
The Bruins entered Thursday’s matchup sporting a 23-0 record and having won six of the last eight meetings in the Galen Center. But it was USC who protected its home court behind a superlative effort from JuJu Watkins.
JuJu Watkins HAD A GAME against the No. 1 team in the country 🔥@Jujubballin | @USCWBB pic.twitter.com/i2WUUdPdqB
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 14, 2025
Watkins had 38 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks, singlehandedly changing the tenor of the game in…
