No. 3 USC wasted no time looking every bit like a team built for a big run, rolling past UNLV 100-68 on Monday afternoon in Las Vegas to open the 2026-27 season.
The headline was JuJu Watkins, who returned to game action for the first time in 588 days after missing her junior season with an ACL injury. The senior guard finished with 21 points, five rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes, a limited workload in her first official game back. She shot 9-for-22 from the field and missed all five of her 3-point attempts, but her presence was still felt from the jump.
“It was great just to be out there with my team again,” Watkins said in a postgame news conference. “[I’m] grateful to be out here today.”
USC’s other two elite young guards made just as loud a statement. Sophomore Jazzy Davidson and freshman Saniyah Hall combined with Watkins for 66 of the Trojans’ 100 points, and each finished with more than 20.
Davidson led the way with 23 points, five rebounds and four assists, going 10-for-11 from the floor. Hall was nearly as sharp in her college debut, scoring 22 points with seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals while shooting 7-for-8 overall and 3-for-4 from deep.
“I had a little bit of nerves in the beginning,” Hall said in a postgame news conference. “But as time went on, I just got used to it, and I was having fun out there.”
The Trojans’ first glimpse of their star trio on the floor together delivered exactly the kind of production the preseason hype promised. Davidson said the group’s willingness to share the ball made the whole thing work.
“We have a whole lot of unselfish players as well, and everybody’s willing to make the extra pass to get the best shot,” Davidson said in a postgame news conference.
USC set the tone early, opening up a 29-15 lead after the first quarter. UNLV pushed back in the second and briefly trimmed the margin into single digits, but the Trojans still carried a 52-39 lead into halftime.
From there, the game tilted even further. USC went into the fourth quarter up 84-49 and led by as many as 42 while shooting 58.8% from the field.
The Trojans got more than enough help beyond their headline names. Junior guard Kennedy Smith scored 12 points and added a block along with a team-high four steals, while junior guard Ryann Bennett chipped in three steals. Freshman forward Satiya Fagan added 11 points, giving USC five players in double figures.
Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb liked what she saw from a roster that already looks loaded.
“This was a great first game for us; we have a special group, we’re excited about it,” Gottlieb said in a postgame news conference. “[There are] so many ways we can get better, which is the exciting thing.”
USC did lose the rebounding battle, with UNLV finishing ahead 40-35. Rebel redshirt junior forward Meadow Roland led UNLV with six rebounds, and the Rebels also held a 21-14 edge on the offensive glass. But the Trojans more than made up for it by turning defense into offense, forcing 24 turnovers, recording 13 steals and converting those mistakes into 32 points.
“We have firepower,” Gottlieb said. “If we can stay committed to the process of getting better on both ends of the floor, good things are ahead; try and take it one step at a time.”
The 100-point outburst was USC’s first in a season opener since the 1985-86 season, when the Trojans eventually reached the national championship game. They’ll try to keep the momentum rolling when they return home to face Utah State in their Galen Center opener on Sunday at 5 p.m.
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For Ohio State fans, the reaction around Rileys remarks became part of the story almost as quickly as the upset itself. The timing of the prepared statement, delivered after USC had just taken down a heavyweight opponent, prompted plenty of discussion across sports media and left the impression that the nights biggest twist might not have come on the field at all. [Read more 🡒]
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For USC, the bigger takeaway is the reality check that comes with seeing the first snapshot of the committees thinking. The rankings will keep coming each week through the regular season, and the final version will decide the bracket, so the Trojans now have a clear benchmark as they try to climb into the conversation and avoid leaving their fate in anyone elses hands. [Read more 🡒]