In their past two games, the No. 5 Trojans did exactly what they needed to do to set themselves up for success: win out against the Arizona schools and clinch the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament, which will take place in Las Vegas. With the regular season over, every game matters, so USC will hope to start March off winning and begin the road to ending its 40-year NCAA title drought.

As the No. 2 seed, the Trojans (23-5, 13-5 Pac-12) will take on the winner of the first-round bout between No. 7-seeded Arizona (16-14, 8-10) and No. 10-seeded Washington (16-13, 6-12), two teams that USC saw mixed results against.

“I’ve had a lot of different postseason teams, and we’re always trying to push the right buttons,” said Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb. “But I think it’s being really confident in who we are and what we do, and adjusting to particular game plans.”

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The seeding puts the Trojans at an advantage, given the fact that they’ll avoid facing any of the gauntlet of ranked teams in the top six. Had USC fallen to the No. 3 seed, it would likely have to face No. 6-seeded Utah (21-9, 11-7), a team that has handed the Trojans two losses this season.

Facing the Huskies might look like a light matchup on paper for USC, but Jan. 28 the Trojans were upset by Washington 62-59. It was a stunning loss for USC in what was its first of two home losses on the year, and a frustrating game for freshman guard JuJu Watkins, who shot a disappointing 30% from the floor. However, the Huskies have been shaky, as they proceeded to lose their next six after upsetting the Trojans.

Given the seeding, Arizona would be the more likely opponent for USC to face. The Trojans swept the Wildcats this season and played them as recently as Feb. 29 in a thrilling 95-93 double-overtime win. Like Washington, Arizona is very beatable, but considering it led by 10 in the fourth quarter and took a strong USC team to two extra frames in the most recent matchup, it should be on the Trojans’ radar.

One factor that could be the game-changer in the tournament is junior center Rayah Marshall’s recent surge. The 6-foot-4 rebounding machine scored a season high of 26 points against the Wildcats while also grabbing 11 boards. Marshall followed her double-double performance against Arizona with another one, tallying 15 points and 15 rebounds against Arizona State (11-19, 3-15) just two days later.

“When I do well, our team does well,” Marshall said. “We’ve increased our number of rebounds per game and I feel like I’ve been rebounding better. So it’s just like, what can I bring to the table?”

Watkins did an effective job of limiting her foul trouble, only fouling once against the Sun Devils after having two consecutive games with at least four. Watkins will look to continue her success in the postseason as she’s coming off four straight performances with at least 20 points.

“It ultimately comes down to who’s able to adjust and make the right plays, the right changes,” Watkins said. “Being able to see all these different defenses, and now knowing what I can do versus them and then seeing them again, making that adjustment in my mind, that’s what’s gonna help.”

Graduate guard McKenzie Forbes has been on a cold streak lately, so the Trojans will hope to have her back on track in Sin City. Forbes shot a combined 16% against both Arizona schools and missed all nine of her 3-point attempts. Despite recent struggles, Forbes has shown flashes of greatness this season and is still USC’s second-leading scorer behind Watkins.

March is going to be a long month for the Trojans, with both the Pac-12 tournament and the women’s NCAA tournament on the horizon. USC is almost guaranteed to host the NCAA tournament’s opening weekend at Galen Center, which is bound to give the Trojans a massive advantage playing on their home court.

“We want to win and we know what it takes, we know what teams are capable of,” Watkins said. “So it’s just holding ourselves to the highest standard, no matter what setting we’re going in.”

USC will await the result of Washington versus Arizona, and will take on the winner March 7 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals stage.