UConn women's basketball faces USC for Elite Eight rematch

LOS ANGELES — Prior to the 2023-24 season, the UConn women’s basketball team hardly had any history with USC.

The programs had played just twice, in 2002 and 2003, and the Huskies won both — though the unranked Trojans gave them a challenge during the ‘03 game in Los Angeles, which finished 72-69.

More than two decades later, the matchup is must-see television. When No. 1 UConn faces No. 16 USC at the Galen Center in Los Angles on Saturday, it will mark the fourth meeting between the teams in the last two calendar years and comes on the heels of Trojans’ first-ever win in the series in Hartford last December. UConn has also eliminated USC from back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in the Elite Eight, both times as the lower-seeded team.

Coach Geno Auriemma said there’s currently no plan to extend the home-and-home series beyond this season, but he likes playing the Trojans because of how successful they’ve been recruiting elite talent in recent years.

“If they weren’t so far away, where you come all the way out here for one game, maybe it would be a little bit easier,” Auriemma said Friday. “But certainly they’re getting some of the best players in the country to go to school there, so I’m glad we’re playing them anyway. And I’m sure we’ll see them in the NCAA Tournament.”

The spotlight on this year’s regular-season battle is dulled by the absence of USC superstar JuJu Watkins, a two-time first-team All-American and 2025 Naismith Trophy winner. Watkins was also sidelined for last season’s Elite Eight game against UConn after she suffered an ACL tear in the second round of the tournament, and she will miss the entire 2025-26 season to focus on her recovery.

It’s a familiar plight for the Huskies, who were largely without star guard Azzi Fudd when they fell 72-70 to the Trojans at home last year. Fudd missed the three games prior to USC with a knee sprain, and she saw the court for just eight minutes going 0-for-4 in UConn’s loss. On Saturday, USC will get a drastically different version of Fudd, who is averaging 18.2 points on historically high shooting percentages — 49.6% from the field, 53.4% on 3-pointers and 100% at the free throw line.

While there’s no replacing Watkins, the Trojans didn’t have to look far to find a new young phenom to fill the void. Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class, has carried USC through the early part of this season averaging 16.7 points, seven rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.7 steals. Davidson had her best game to date with 22 points and 12 boards in USC’s win over No. 20 Washington last week, but she struggled in earlier ranked matchups. The freshman had just eight points in the Trojans’ loss to No. 3 South Carolina, and she gave up eight turnovers when they were upset by No. 19 Notre Dame.

“They haven’t missed that much with JuJu being out, when you’ve got a freshman that comes in and leads them in just about everything,” Auriemma said. “She really has stamped herself on that team, and she’s probably the best freshman in the country at this point based on what’s happened on the court. I think she’s everything she was advertised to be.”

UConn hasn’t been to the Trojans’ home arena since 2003, but Huskies guard Kayleigh Heckel last played at the Galen Center just a few months ago. Heckel averaged 6.1 points, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 17 minutes per game during her freshman season at USC before transferring to UConn this year, and her final game as a Trojan was the team’s 2025 Elite Eight loss to the Huskies. While Heckel said she’s looking forward to returning to Los Angeles and seeing her former teammates, the history adds another layer of pressure for the sophomore in the high-stakes matchup.

“I just try to take one game at a time,” Heckel said after UConn beat DePaul on Sunday. “But I’m excited to go back. I had a great freshman year there. I learned a lot and it was a great experience, so a lot of fond memories … I’m just trying to think about it as a regular game.”

Southern California guard Kayleigh Heckel (9) drives the ball toward the basket as UConn guard KK Arnold (2) defends during the first half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 31, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Heckel’s classmate Avery Howell also transferred out of USC after last season, and she reportedly received some boos when she returned to face her former team in L.A. last week with Washington. Heckel will likely get a similar reception from the sold-out crowd Saturday, and the hostility may be heightened by the burgeoning rivalry between the programs. Auriemma said he’s trying to keep the sophomore guard from taking things too seriously heading into the matchup knowing the a mental toll it can take.

“I asked Heckel the other day if she was coming on the trip, and she was like, astounded,” Auriemma joked after the win over DePaul. “So I try to make light of it. You lose your mind because your emotions are like, ‘Oh my god, how are they going to treat me?’ What do you care how they treat you? They could be really nice to you and then kick your ass. How’s that feel? Or they could boo you and throw stuff at you and we beat them.”