USC faces UCLA in first of two meetings

USC and its crosstown rivals will finally battle this season in a two-game series, after the earlier matchup was postponed due to coronavirus protocols within UCLA’s program. The Trojans will first travel to Pauley Pavilion Thursday before welcoming the Bruins at Galen Center on Sunday. 

For Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb, she’ll finally get a taste of this long, historic rivalry. 

“I’m really excited,” said Gottlieb in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “Not many rivalries is the team across the town, literally. There’s so much history in it and you feel the energy from our players and I’m excited just to roll into it and go to battle with them.”

UCLA leads the all-time series between crosstown rivals 51-50, winning the last three meetings. USC has not defeated the Bruins since a double overtime game in early January 2020, but UCLA has struggled to find its footing this season. 

A coronavirus outbreak in December sidelined the Bruins for almost a month, with six games either canceled or postponed and the original matchup with the Trojans moved to Jan. 20. A coronavirus outbreak also forced USC to cancel a game and reschedule two Pac-12 matchups. 

In its first game back, UCLA lost to Colorado on the road for its fourth loss of the season. In 2021, the Bruins didn’t suffer their fourth loss until early February — exactly a month later than this season. UCLA is on a two-game winning streak going into Thursday’s matchup after sweeping the Washington schools at home. 

Gottlieb highlighted taking care of the basketball against a Bruins side that forced 19 turnovers in each of their last two games. Being the aggressor in the game is also an emphasis for Gottlieb, in terms of crashing for boards and taking advantage of mismatches.

Senior guard Desiree Caldwell mentioned a similar key to a victory. 

“We just have to want it bad. We have to be way grittier than the Bruins,” Caldwell said. “They’re a very tough team that just plays super hard, so we have to match their intensity.”

USC is currently in the middle of the Pac-12 standings with a record of 9-5. The Trojans upset No. 4 Arizona Jan. 9 then proceeded to split its series against the Washington schools. The win over the Wildcats was USC’s first top-five win since 2014. 

Sophomore forward Jordyn Jenkins has caught fire as of late, scoring over 20 points in back-to-back games. 

The 6-foot-2 forward leads the Trojans with 13 points per game and ranks second on the team in rebounds per game with 5.6. Jenkins will likely match up with UCLA standout graduate student forward Iimar’i Thomas, averaging 17 points per game on nearly 60% shooting from the field. 

Thomas transferred from Cincinnati after last season, where she had a 51-point game against East Carolina. Thomas has scored double digits in all but two games this season. 

“She’s a really talented scorer. She puts pressure on you on all parts of the floor,” Gottlieb said. “We’re going to throw some different looks at her. I think our size is going to be effective, throwing a number of bodies at her and making her work on the other end too.”

Complementing Jenkins in the front court is graduate student Jordan Sanders. A strong low post presence, Sanders is averaging nearly 12 points per game but on only 37.5% shooting from the field. Both could overmatch a Bruins team that is heavy in guard play and lacking in forwards. 

UCLA has a strong back court with three guards averaging double digits in points per game, led by junior Charisma Osborne who averages 18. Osborne notched a triple-double in the Bruins meeting with the Trojans in a 42-point rout last season. 

Players are keeping it simple going into the crosstown rivalry. 

“For us, just play our hardest and focus on us,” junior guard Kyra White said. “We can’t control what they do out there, all we can have control over is us.”

USC will play the Bruins Thursday at 6:30 p.m., then return to Galen Center Sunday at 6 p.m.