JuJu Watkins and No. 3 USC can’t hold back No. 6 Notre Dame in first loss

The Galen Center crowd buzzed as JuJu Watkins collected the opening tip-off.

It was a sign of USC women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s program-rebuilding success, turning the Trojans back into a national championship contender — a sign of growing support and interest.

But No. 6 Notre Dame was able to dissipate the buzz, stifling No. 3 USC in a 74-61 win Saturday.

“You don’t schedule this game because you think anything is going to be a 40-point win,” Gottlieb said, speaking about how she and Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey worked together to make the matchup. “You schedule it because you have an opportunity to have a great crowd and play well and give yourself an early-season, signature win.

“Or, you get exposed.”

The Trojans, who entered the game averaging 98.3 points on their home court, albeit against unranked squads, had their shortcomings exposed, shooting just 35.8% from the field and one for 13 from beyond the arc.

“We could never wrest control from them,” Gottlieb said. “Then, just disappointed — kind of — in the fourth that we didn’t compete the way that we want to compete to keep this a game and give ourselves a shot at the end.”

USC (4-1) committed eight of its 21 turnovers in the first quarter to fall into a 10-point deficit. Notre Dame sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo scored 24 points and led the game with five steals. Watkins scored 10 points in the third quarter on the way to 24.

The Trojans’ sophomore star tied a season low by making 40% from the field on 10-for-25 shooting. Ivey’s game plan of playing Fighting Irish junior guard Sonia Citron on Watkins helped force the 6-foot-2 guard into five turnovers.

“It’s kind of hard to take my eyes off of it,” Watkins said, zoning in on the box score throughout the postgame news conference. “Just seeing how many mistakes we made in areas we can improve on.”

Watkins’ third-quarter surge brought the Trojans within three points, but Notre Dame capitalized on offensive rebounds from Cassandre Prosper and two three-pointers from Olivia Miles to stretch the Irish’s lead to 21 as many of the 7,894 fans in attendance trickled toward the exits.

In that crowd, celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Michael B. Jordan, Jason Sudeikis and the Sparks’ Cameron Brink and Dearica Hamby sat courtside to watch the duel of potential NCAA title contenders.

But it was Hidalgo who left Los Angeles as the star Saturday.

“I came into this game knowing it was going to be a big hoopla,” Hidalgo said.

Hidalgo and Miles became just the second pair of teammates in the last 25 years to tally 20 points, five rebounds and five assists each against an Associated Press top-10 foe.

But the duo did so without having to play against one of USC’s standout freshmen.

USC guard Kennedy Smith, who averages 10.3 points as a starter, did not play after undergoing surgery for an undisclosed injury. Gottlieb said Smith would return this season but could not say when.

Kayleigh Heckel replaced Smith in the starting lineup and made the most of her opportunity. Providing bursts of energy by chasing balls out of bounds and bullying her wait into the paint for rebounds, the 5-9 freshman provided versatility not in the box score. She finished with six points and four rebounds.

“We signed [Heckel] for a reason,” Gottlieb said. “We believe in her. She has really unique talent. She’s so fast, she’s a competitor. Difficult situation to be in and have your first start be against the Irish with this backcourt, but we have a ton of confidence in her.”

Gottlieb said the Trojans must improve at running plays, playing in transition and avoiding turnovers as their first Big Ten schedule gets closer. “We have to have better communication on the floor,” she said. “I have to demand that of them better, and you’ll see improvement there. I’m certain of that.”

USC will play Seton Hall and Saint Louis in the Acrisure Holiday Invitational in Palm Desert and host California Baptist before opening Big Ten play at No. 23 Oregon on Dec. 7. Another big nonconference matchup looms at No. 2 Connecticut on Dec. 21.