HARTFORD – Sometimes good things happen quickly. Sometimes you have to endure. And sometimes good things happen when you need them most.
When Cheryl Miller came to USC just a season after the NCAA era began, the Trojans had fast success. She led them to back-to-back national titles in 1983 and ’84 and established the Women of Troy as a basketball powerhouse. But since her graduation in 1986, the Trojans have endured 38 years without a Final Four. USC basketball was out of the spotlight. Then, just when the program needed a spark, JuJu Watkins chose to play for the Trojans over Stanford and South Carolina and took USC to its first Elite Eight in 30 years.
Things unfolded in a similar way on Saturday night in No. 7 USC’s thrilling 72-70 win over No. 4 UConn at the XL Center. Good things happened immediately, as USC jumped to a 9-0 lead behind a hot start from Watkins. Then, after taking a 13-point lead into the half, the Trojans had to endure. UConn changed its defense, Watkins slowed down and the Huskies started to find rhythm. And just when the tide seemed to have completely turned in favor of UConn, good things started happening again. Made free throws for USC, missed free throws for UConn and the buzzer sounding on a victory over the country’s most historic program. Just when they needed it.
“We punched first, we made a lot of shots, and when it got hard down the stretch, we held together,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said.
Watkins started things off with a 15-point first half that included a 3 of 4 performance from beyond the arc. She created canyons of space on her step backs, went to the hoop with overpowering strength and executed in effortless fashion. The court started to open up for the rest of the Trojans, too. Senior forward Kiki Iriafen finished around the rim for eight points, 6-foot-1 freshman guard Kennedy Smith hit two three-pointers and Talia von Oelhoffen, Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel each knocked down a three of their own. USC went 7 of 11 from beyond the arc while UConn went 2 of 9 as the Trojans took a 13-point lead into halftime.
“Both teams have two mega-stars, so a lot of times, it’s going to come down to everyone else,” Gottlieb said. “I thought the real difference was at the three-point line. And a lot of this comes down to the fact that this was an entire team win.”
A different UConn team came out in the third quarter. The Huskies upped their defensive intensity, particularly against Watkins, doubling her every time she put the ball on the floor. Bueckers also started to heat up, scoring 15 of her 22 points in the second half. “I thought the execution in the first half was as bad as I’ve seen in a few years here in Connecticut,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “We held them to less points in the second half than they scored in the first quarter, so there are a lot of great things to be proud of in the second half that we can build on.”
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The crowd quieted as Strong made her first attempt but missed her second. That prompted her to miss the next on purpose. Somehow, the rebound ended up in Bueckers’ hands but was then batted towards halfcourt. Strong collected it and attempted a 30-foot game winner, but once again she missed. Strong crumpled to the court, the Trojans celebrated and the crowd stood in stunned silence. USC had escaped.
“She’s going to make a lot more game-winning shots than she misses,” Gottlieb said of Strong, who finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. “What a great player she is and her future is incredibly bright.
Watkins finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. For her and the other Trojans, the win was a long time coming, or at least since last March, when they lost to the Huskies in the Elite Eight. “It’s always good to get the dub, but I think it hit a little different knowing the history of last year and how they sent us home,” Watkins said.
For Gottlieb, getting here has been an even longer journey. UConn has been the sport’s standard since she was a player at Brown from 1995-1999. During her post-game press conference, Gottlieb told of the time during her senior year when she asked her dad to take her on a road trip to UConn. The Huskies were playing the sport’s other standard bearer, Tennessee. Gottlieb and her dad hopped in the car and made the 50-mile trip from Providence. Gottlieb witnessed women’s basketball as it should be. She waited 25 years before her own program played in the same atmosphere.
“The rest of the country has caught up to UConn in terms of valuing women’s basketball,” Gottlieb said. “So to see that (when I was in college) just made me believe it could spread across the country.”
To beat UConn, even in a regular-season game, means so much more than a W on the stat sheet. It means USC is on its way to being everything Gottlieb pitched to Watkins during her recruitment. It means the Trojans can be like that team Gottlieb watched in 1999. This is a program that can win a national title. The loss to Notre Dame was a setback, but the win over UConn proved that the Trojans can be playing at the end of March.
“To come here with players that believed in me, that believed in us and believed in USC is incredibly significant,” Gottlieb said.
Gottlieb hopes there are many more significant moments to come for her players and her program, but for tonight, in this arena, with so much history hanging over them, they can savor a night – and a win – to remember.
