USC Women's Basketball: Surprise W Over UCLA Has Trojans Recalibrating Own Ceiling

And for good reason!

After handing the previously-undefeated UCLA Bruins their first loss of the 2023-24 NCAA season, a 73-65 win on Saturday, some of your USC Trojans seem to be confirming their own internal confidence in their ceiling for the season, while others appear to be figuring out just how good they can be.

Per Beth Harris of The Associated Press, graduate student guard McKenzie Forbes, for one, seemed to be in the latter camp.

“We showed so much what we’re capable of, not just to fans but to ourselves,” Forbes said.

USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb seemed to be brimming with confidence about her team's own abilities, even with paint-protecting starting center Rayah Marshall sidelined due to an illness.

“I felt like this was going to happen,” Gottlieb said. “Our preparation and mentality was going to give us a chance to win the game.”

The Trojans were propelled to glory by superstar freshman wing JuJu Watkins, whose 32 points marked a game high. Watkins spoke afterwards about her club's acumen on the defensive side of the floor.

“As a team we just were just so eager on defense,” Watkins said. “I fed off my teammates’ energy. You just want to be a part of that. On the defensive end, we played a great game. The whole team did it.”

USC will next face ex-Trojan Alissa Pili's 19th-ranked Utah Utes this Friday.