As the early stages of what is sure to be a grueling season begin to take shape, there is a strange sensation in the arena when star sophomore guard JuJu Watkins and the USC women’s basketball team take to the court at Galen Center. There is no marquee opposition on the floor, highlights that will make SportsCenter in the morning or shortage of empty seats, but to everyone that is in attendance, one thing is clear: They are watching the renewal of a powerhouse in the sport and come March, people will be paying attention.

On Tuesday night, it was Cal State University at Northridge (2-1) who fell victim to the utter dominance and relentlessness of the No. 3 Trojans (3-0). Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb picked up her 300th career Division I win in USC’s stunning 124-39 victory, as her squad set a program record for both points scored and margin of victory in a game.

What was perhaps most jarring about the 85-point thrashing of the Matadors was the Trojans did not even seem to play particularly well for large portions of the game. The significantly revamped group is clearly still developing chemistry and learning to play with one another, which is to be expected. The season is just three games old, and of the seven players who have logged the most minutes, just two were on the team last season: Watkins and senior center Rayah Marshall.

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But while there are post entry passes that need to be thrown into graduate forward Kiki Iriafen more quickly and graduate guard Talia von Oelhoffen has yet to establish a solid rhythm running the offense alongside Watkins, it simply does not matter. The depth, speed and defensive intensity of the Trojans is enough to run most teams off the floor before the game even starts.

“We have two grad transfers who are incredibly talented, but they played three or four years at other winning programs, so to get them to [build] chemistry with what we’re trying to do, and new freshmen and freshmen becoming sophomores,” Gottlieb said. “It’s new for everybody, and that’s the fun part — to try and get where we want to be.”

As the game progressed through the second half, Gottlieb eventually opted to take mercy on CSUN and start taking her key players out of the game. Unfortunately for USC’s opponents, the drop-off in play to the Trojans’ bench was minimal, if existent at all.

Gottlieb’s reserve unit combined for a remarkable 56 points, shooting 9-18 from three-point range and continuing to be a nuisance on defense — constantly swarming the Matadors and swiping 11 steals.

“We have a really talented bench, and I think our depth is something that separates us from other good teams,” von Oelhoffen said. “We have players that would be playing a lot of minutes anywhere else, but they really bought into their role and they push us in practice. So it was really cool to see them get in and obviously, they played great, 56 bench points — that’s pretty crazy.”

While the incredible depth USC possesses makes the second halves of November blowouts more fun to watch, it also has the potential to be a huge weapon for the Trojans in the latter stages of the season. In its NCAA Tournament run last season, at times Gottlieb seemed hamstrung — unable to make adjustments due to the lack of depth around Watkins in her squad.

This year, when it is time for Gottlieb to play chess with the Dawn Staleys and Geno Auriemmas of the world, she will be fully armed with a loaded arsenal of options. Whether it is playing small ball for extended stretches or testing out a multitude of line-ups, the coaching staff is ensuring that the Trojans will be fully prepared to plug and play different styles against top opposition when they need to.

“We have really big guards, so we think that gives us a versatility to sometimes play more four-guard line-ups that don’t necessarily look like it, because some of our guards are as big as posts,” Gottlieb said. “And sometimes we’ll go really, really big. So that versatility is part of who we are, and tonight was a good chance to work on some of those line-ups.”

The Trojans’ adaptability makes them dangerous on offense, but on defense — it turns them into a matchup nightmare for whoever stands in their way. Tuesday, even once it became clear the game was not a competitive endeavor for either team, USC continued to pick up the Matador guards at full court — not giving up an inch of space to its opponents or taking a single possession off.

The Trojans finished with 28 steals, the third most in a game in program history. USC’s top two all-time sniping performances came a week apart in December of 1980 when the Trojans combined for 61 steals against Texas A&M and Berkeley. On Tuesday, the Trojans partied like it was 1980, delivering a lockdown defensive performance that former Head Coach Linda Sharp would have been proud of.

“I take pride in my defense, I literally love defense. That’s why me and [Associate Head Coach Beth Burns] get along so well,” said freshman guard Kennedy Smith. “When I’m playing, I just don’t want anyone to score on me. That’s my mentality, that dawg mentality, and [Gottlieb] has trusted me and the rest of the team to do the right thing.”

The immense talent on USC’s roster has also made the squad much more balanced, lessening the burden on Watkins to be a scoring machine every night. She has shown completeness and improved decision-making in her game, dishing out a career-high 9 assists in just 29 minutes against CSUN. In 36 previous games, the sophomore had never dropped more than six dimes in a single contest.

“I think we know what a scorer [Watkins] is, but she understands how much talent we have on our team and that to be at our best we just have to make the right play,” Gottlieb said. “Maybe there’s a game in which she shoots it 10 times in a row, but I do think she’s come back this season a more complete player and the game has slowed down [for her].”

While USC’s identity as a team may not be fully formed, it is evident that their chemistry is growing with each possession, and next Saturday’s marquee matchup with No. 6 Notre Dame (3-0) will serve as a great benchmark of how far the team has come so far. While battles such as those with the Fighting Irish and No. 2 UConn (2-0) will be brutal, Gottlieb’s commitment to scheduling difficult nonconference contests will pay dividends in March — and for the long-term development of the squad.

The Trojans will now shift their attention to Santa Clara, who they will take on Friday at noon at Galen Center — their final warmup before the much-anticipated showdown with the Fighting Irish.