WOMEN’S BASKETBALL — 2024-25
USC vs. Notre Dame — as it happened
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📌 PINNED
Henry Mode & Kimberly Aguirre from Galen Center; photos by Marcus Heatherly
The biggest game of the collegiate women’s basketball season to date is taking place at Galen Center today.
No. 3 USC is taking on rival No. 6 Notre Dame in a mammoth early-season showdown. The two best freshmen in the country last season, sophomore guards Juju Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo and their teams will look to make a statement that they are ready to win a National Championship.
We’re reporting live from the arena. Refresh to see new updates.
2:59 PM
That will do it here at Galen Center. Extremely disappointing performance from the Trojans, who will have some soul-searching to do after a 74-61 home defeat to rival Notre Dame.
2:42 PM
Miles is just dancing on the Trojans’ graves at this point. A couple triples in a row (USC has only hit one all day) and the lead is 66-47. Watkins and co. look ready to hit the locker room.
2:36 PM
Air has been completely taken out of this building as this one is looking pretty close to over. A 6-0 Notre Dame run extends the lead to 58-45, the largest margin of the day, with less than eight minutes remaining. Just a rough shooting day for the Trojans and far too many turnovers, not going to cut it against a team this good.
2:18 PM
Loudest it has been in here all day. And-one for Watkins, who has hit her last three shots, and cuts the Trojan deficit to three at the free throw line.
2:16 PM
44-38 Notre Dame with 4:19 to go in the third quarter. The last six Trojan points have come via Watkins and graduate forward Kiki Iriafen, who badly needed to wake up. They have, but will need to keep it up — and probably get some help — if USC is going to win this game.
1:51 PM
At the end of the first half, the Trojans trail the Fighting Irish 35-28. Notre Dame has held a lead over USC for the entire first half.
Hidalgo has lit up the Trojans and is the leading scorer with 16 points.
1:41 PM
Way too many turnovers for USC in this first half, up to 13 now. Hidalgo just sprinted down the court to celebrate a Watkins turnover that she forced. Safe to say those two are not the best of buds.
1:24 PM
Timeout Notre Dame as the momentum is beginning to shift, in large part due to the energy boost provided by freshman guard Kayleigh Heckel and graduate guard Talia von Oelhoffen. 22-19 Fighting Irish with 7:36 to go in the half.
1:24 PM
20-10 Notre Dame as we come to the end of the first quarter at Galen Center. Pretty nightmarish start for USC. Notre Dame star sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo is lighting up the Trojans, putting up 11 points on 5-8 shooting in the first frame, while USC star sophomore guard JuJu Watkins has just 2 points and is 1-8 from the field.
1:12 PM
Timeout USC with 4:46 to go in the first quarter after Notre Dame goes ahead 14-6 following back-to-back triples from junior guard Olivia Miles and sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo. It’s been a tough shooting start for the Trojans, going 3-9 from the field so far.
12:55 PM
Just about to get underway. Seats still filling in, but it was announced as a sold out crowd today. It’s also a star-studded affair: Snoop Dogg and Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink are just a few who have walked in so far.
12:45 PM
Fifteen minutes to tip here at Galen Center. The Trojans have a new starting lineup due to an injury to standout freshman guard Kennedy Smith, who may be in line to miss a significant amount of time. Here are the starting fives for both squads:
USC
Guard Kayleigh Heckel
Guard Talia von Oelhoffen
Guard JuJu Watkins
Forward Kiki Iriafen
Center Rayah Marshall
Notre Dame
Guard Olivia Miles
Guard Hannah Hidalgo
Guard Sonia Citron
Forward Liatu King
Forward Kate Koval
