The atmosphere at Galen Center Friday night was nothing short of inspirational. Minutes before the tip-off of the No. 21 Trojans’ home-opener victory over Florida Gulf Coast University, Cheryl Miller and the 1984 USC women’s basketball championship team were honored at midcourt.

“It’s like a dream,” said junior forward Rayah Marshall. “We had the honor of actually hearing from some of those players before the game, and they gave us that motivation — a little insight on what it’s like to wear the USC jersey because they once wore it before us.”

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

The pre-game ceremony felt like a passing of the torch. The Trojans (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12) haven’t won a national title since 1984. With the No. 1 recruit, freshman guard JuJu Watkins, joining a provenly competitive USC roster, many believe this season is destined to be the resurgence of the Trojans’ glory days. 

Although Friday ended in a 16-point win for USC, the Trojans had a slow start. They began the game in a 9-0 hole. 

With 5:25 left in the first period and no points on the board, Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb called a time-out to allow the team to regroup. 

“I didn’t make any crazy adjustments,” Gottlieb said. “I just said … ‘We have to do the principles that we worked on, but at their pace. Now you guys feel it. You know what the pace is and how urgent every possession is.’”

Marshall emerged from the 30-second intermission determined to open scoring for the Trojans. She delivered two quick buckets inside to ignite a 12-point scoring run. USC concluded the first period up 14-11, and it wouldn’t face a deficit for the remainder of the game. 

Each of FGCU’s players’ designated positions is shooter, and the Trojans stripped the Eagles of their collective identity by the end of the first half. 

The Trojans outscored the Eagles 19-8 in the second period. Graduate forward Kaitlyn Davis led a defensive effort that brought the Eagles down to the buzzer on almost every possession. The Trojans forced seven turnovers, including four steals in the second period alone.

“It’s hard because you have to keep guarding all of that motion,” Gottlieb said. “It’s a very different philosophy than when you play other teams who have a more normal offense where there’s cold-air. We really guarded them for the entire shot-clock.”

Down 33-19 at the start of the third period, FGCU took greater risks shooting and began to chip away at the Trojans’ lead. With 6:59 left in the period, 5-foot-4-inch senior shooter Casey Santoro hit a dagger from the near wing to cut USC’s lead to five.

Trojan freshman guard Malia Samuels fired right back with a triple of her own. Then, with Watkins nailing mid-range jump shots and Marshall dominating the paint, the Trojans exploded for a 9-0, 3:21-minute run. 

USC completed the third period with a 20-point lead. For the final 10 minutes of play, FGCU abandoned small ball to compete with the Trojans’ physicality. The adjustment wouldn’t be enough for a comeback, though, and USC remained steadily ahead throughout the remainder of the contest.

Redshirt freshman guard Aaliyah Gayles, who missed the 2022-23 season after being shot multiple times at a house party in April 2022, made her Trojan debut when she took to the court for the first time in 574 days with 1:40 minutes left in the game.

“I was definitely shaking in my boots,” Gayles said. “I don’t care what time it was on the clock, I was just ready to get in there.”

At this point last season, Gottlieb wore Gayles’ number three jersey for the Trojans’ home opener while Gayles was recovering from her injuries.

“I wanted to wear it A: to represent how much [Gayles] means to us, and B: because I knew there was going to be a time when she was wearing it,” Gottlieb said. “This is not an endpoint for her, but it’s a really cool point, and it’s forward from here.”

When the final buzzer sounded, USC secured the 67-51 victory and sent the Eagles packing for the peninsula. Watkins wrapped up the night with 18 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Marshall finished with 18 points, four rebounds and two blocks. 

“There’s a lot to look forward to [and] there’s a lot to get better, but it’s been an exciting first week,” Gottlieb said. “There’s a unique feel with this team that’s very rare. When you have that, anything’s possible.”

The Trojans will look to improve to 3-0 when they play Le Moyne College Monday at Galen Center at 5:30 p.m.