2023–24 USC Trojans women's basketball
ConferencePac-12 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 9
Record13–1 (3–1 Pac-12)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Beth Burns (2nd season)
  • Wendale Farrow (3rd season)
  • Willnett Crockett (1st season)
  • Courtney Jaco (1st season)
Home arenaGalen Center
2023–24 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 5 Colorado50 1.000151  .938
No. 8 Stanford41 .800152  .882
No. 2 UCLA31 .750141  .933
No. 9 USC31 .750131  .929
Oregon State32 .600142  .875
California23 .400125  .706
No. 19 Utah23 .400125  .706
Oregon23 .400117  .611
Arizona23 .400107  .588
Washington13 .250114  .733
Washington State13 .250125  .706
Arizona State05 .00089  .471
† 2024 Pac-12 tournament winner
As of January 14, 2024
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023–24 USC Trojans women's basketball team represents the University of Southern California during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Trojans play their home games at the Galen Center and are members of the Pac-12 Conference. This is the last year the team will play in the Pac-12 as they are slated to join the Big Ten Conference. The squad is led by third-year head coach Lindsay Gottlieb.

USC started off ranked No. 21 in the preseason rankings in both the AP and Coaches Polls. The team was picked to finished 6th by the last-ever Pac-12 coaches poll.

Previous season

The Women of Troy finished the regular Pac-12 season tied for 4th with UCLA and Arizona. Because both of those teams held tiebreakers over USC, the Trojans earned the 6th seed in the 2023 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball tournament.

The squad earned its first bid for the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament since 2014.[1] and its first at-large bid since 2006. Holding an 8-seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament, the Women of Troy fell in overtime in the first round to 9-seeded South Dakota State, 57-62.

Last year's team spent much of the season receiving votes in both polls and made the top 25 once in the AP Poll. In the last AP Poll, they received 3 votes while they no longer received any votes in the final two coaches' polls.[2]

Offseason changes

The Women of Troy will bring in 2 first-years out of high school, 1 transfer student, and 4 graduate students. 1 student who red-shirted last year is also expected to play this coming season. 6 players from the previous year graduated while 1 transferred and 1 retired.

Regarding coaching staff, Women of Troy alumna Courtney Jaco, who previously served as Director of Player Development and who as a player won the 2014 Pac-12 tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament, was promoted to Assistant Coach.[3] Wilnett Crockett also joined the coaching staff as an Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. Meanwhile, Nneka Enemkpali joined the Rutgers coaching staff during the off-season.[4]

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Koi Love 0 F 6'0" Junior Orlando, FL Retired
Destiny Littleton11G5'9"Graduate StudentSan Diego, CAGraduated
Bella Perkins12F5'9"SophomoreFairfax, VATransferred to Pittsburgh
Madison Campbell 23 G 5'11" RS Junior Fresno, CA Retired for Medical Reasons
Okako Adika 24 G/F 6'0" Graduate Student Holstebro, DK Graduated
Alyson Miura 25 G 5'9" Senior Clackamas, OR Graduated
Kadi Sissoko 30 F 6'2" Graduate Student Paris, FR Graduated
Rokia Doumbia 52 G 5'9" Graduate Student Bamako, ML Graduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumPos.HeightYearHometownPrevious School
McKenzie Forbes[5]0W6'0"Graduate TransferFolsom, CAHarvard
Dominique Onu[6]23G5'9"JuniorLos Angeles, CAUCLA
Kaitlyn Davis[7]24G/F6'0"Graduate TransferNorwalk, CTColumbia
Roxane Makolo24G5'10"Graduate TransferSaint-Hubert, QC, CAPurdue
Kayla Padilla[8]45G5'9"Graduate TransferTorrance, CAPenn

2023 recruiting class

Source:[9]

Name Overall Rank Position Position Rank Hometown High School Height ESPN Stars ESPN Grade
Juju Watkins1PG/SG1Los Angeles, CASierra Canyon6'0"598
Malia Samuels - G - Seattle, WA Garfield HS 5'6" 4 94

The Women of Troy bring in the tenth-ranked recruiting class in the country.[10] The incoming squad features top-ranked high school recruit Juju Watkins and 49th-ranked Malia Samuels.[11] Redshirt first-year Aaliyah Gayles is also expected to play after having sat out the previous season due to injury.[12] Gayles, ranked No. 8 in the country for the class of 2022, was recruited by previous head coach Mark Trakh[13]

Roster

2023–24 USC Trojans women's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 1 Taylor Bigby 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) JrOregon Las Vegas, NV
G 2 India Otto (W) 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) GSWindward School Los Angeles, CA
G 3 Aaliyah Gayles Injured 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) RS FrSpring Valley HS Las Vegas, NV
G 4 Kayla Williams 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) SrUC Irvine Los Angeles, CA
G 10 Malia Samuels 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) FrGarfield HS Seattle, WA
G 12 Juju Watkins 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) FrSierra Canyon Los Angeles, CA
G/F 13 Rayah Marshall 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) JrLynwood HS Los Angeles, CA
G 23 Dominique Onu 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) GSUCLA Los Angeles, CA
G 24 Kaitlyn Davis 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) GSColumbia Norwalk, CT
G 25 McKenzie Forbes 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) GSHarvard Folsom, CA
G 30 Roxane Makolo 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) GSPurdue Quebec, CA
C 32 Clarice Akunwafo 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) JrRolling Hills Prep Inglewood, CA
G 45 Kayla Padilla 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) GSPenn Torrance, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 7, 2023

Schedule

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
11:00 a.m., TruTV
No. 21 vs. No. 7 Ohio State
Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas
W 83–74  1–0
 32  Watkins  17  Marshall  5  Watkins  T-Mobile Arena 
Paradise, NV
November 10, 2023*
7:00 p.m.
No. 21 Florida Gulf Coast W 67–51  2–0
 18  Tied  7  Tied  6  Forbes  Galen Center (4,712)
Los Angeles, CA
November 13, 2023*
5:30 p.m.
No. 10 Le Moyne W 93–43  3–0
 35  Watkins  9  Watkins  5  Forbes  Galen Center (1,009)
Los Angeles, CA
November 20, 2023*
6:00 p.m., FloHoops
No. 8 vs. Seton Hall
Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship
W 64–54  4–0
 15  Watkins  15  Marshall  3  Tied  Baha Mar Convention Center (409)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 22, 2023*
6:00 p.m., FloHoops
No. 8 vs. Penn State
Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship
W 71–70  5–0
 31  Watkins  12  Watkins  3  Watkins  Baha Mar Convention Center (297)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 28, 2023*
7:00 p.m.
No. 6 Cal Poly W 85–44  6–0
 30  Watkins  8  Akunwafo  6  Padilla  Galen Center (1,419)
Los Angeles, CA
December 3, 2023*
3:00 p.m.
No. 6 San Diego W 89–58  7–0
 30  Watkins  12  Marshall  6  Padilla  Galen Center (2,169)
Los Angeles, CA
December 10, 2023*
3:30 p.m.
No. 6 UC Riverside W 85–53  8–0
 27  Watkins  12  Marshall  5  Tied  Galen Center (4,201)
Los Angeles, CA
December 18, 2023*
7:00 p.m., P12N
No. 6 Cal State Fullerton W 93–44  9–0
 23  Watkins  6  Tied  6  Watkins  Galen Center (1,962)
Los Angeles, CA
December 21, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 6 at Long Beach State W 85–77  10–0
 36  Forbes  8  Akunwafo  4  Tied  Walter Pyramid (1,243)
Long Beach, CA
Pac-12 Conference Regular season
December 30, 2023
5:00 p.m., P12N
No. 6 at No. 2 UCLA
Rivalry
L 64–71  10–1
(0–1)
 27  Watkins  13  Marshall  5  Padilla  Pauley Pavilion (13,659)
Los Angeles, CA
January 5, 2024
7:00 p.m., P12N
No. 9 Oregon State W 56–54  11–1
(1–1)
 28  Watkins  14  Marshall  5  Marshall  Galen Center (2,749)
Los Angeles, CA
January 7, 2024
12:00 p.m., P12N
No. 9 Oregon W 68–54  12–1
(2–1)
 17  Watkins  9  Tied  6  Watkins  Galen Center (2,282)
Los Angeles, CA
January 14, 2024
2:00 p.m., P12N
No. 9 No. 2 UCLA
Rivalry
W 73–65  13–1
(3–1)
 32  Watkins  10  Watkins  4  Forbes  Galen Center (10,258)
Los Angeles, CA
January 19, 2024
6:00 p.m., P12N
at Utah     Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, UT
January 21, 2024
12:00 p.m., P12N
at Colorado     CU Events Center 
Boulder, CO
January 26, 2024
7:00 p.m., P12N
Washington State     Galen Center 
Los Angeles, CA
January 28, 2024
12:00 p.m., P12N
Washington     Galen Center 
Los Angeles, CA
February 2, 2024
7:00 p.m., P12N
at Stanford     Maples Pavilion 
Stanford, CA
February 4, 2024
12:00 p.m., P12N
at California     Haas Pavilion 
Berkeley, CA
February 9, 2024
7:00 p.m., P12N
Arizona State     Galen Center 
Los Angeles, CA
February 12, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN2
Arizona     Galen Center 
Los Angeles, CA
February 16, 2024
7:00 p.m., P12N
at Oregon     Matthew Knight Arena 
Eugene, OR
February 18, 2024
12:00 p.m., P12N
at Oregon State     Gill Coliseum 
Corvallis, OR
February 23, 2024
7:00 p.m., P12N
Colorado     Galen Center 
Los Angeles, CA
February 25, 2024
12:00 p.m., P12N
Utah     Galen Center 
Los Angeles, CA
February 29, 2024
5:00 p.m., P12N
at Arizona     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
March 2, 2024
11:00 a.m., P12N
at Arizona State     Desert Financial Arena 
Tempe, AZ
Pac-12 Women's Tournament
March 6–10, 2024
TBA, P12N/ESPN
vs. TBA     Michelob Ultra Arena 
Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

Source: USCTrojans.com[14]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP211086666699Not released
Coaches2110т108655566

Awards and honors

  • Forbes
    • Cheryl Miller Preseason Watchlist
    • Pac-12 Player of the Week
  • Marshall
    • Silver Medalist at the 2023 FIBA Women's AmeriCup.[15]
    • Jersey Mike's Naismith Award Watchlist
    • Lisa Leslie Preaseason Watchlist
    • Preseason All-Pac-12 Team
    • John Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watchlist
  • Watkins[16]
    • No. 1 recruit in the nation
    • National Gatorade Player of the Year
    • Gold Medalist and MVP of the 2022 FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup
    • 2020 Sports Illustrated Sports Kid of the Year
    • McDonald's All-American
    • Los Angeles Times Girls Basketball Player of the Year, 2021, 2022, 2023[17]
    • USA Today Girls Basketball Player of the Year
    • Jersey Mike's Naismith Award Watchlist
    • Preseason All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention
    • USBWA Tamika Catchings Freshman of the Week
    • Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (x8) - Tie for All-Time Pac-12 record
    • Pac-12 Player of the Week
    • John Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watchlist

See Also

References

  1. "USC women are back in NCAA tournament; UCLA to host two rounds". Los Angeles Times. March 13, 2023.
  2. "2022-23 Women's College Basketball Rankings for Week 19". ESPN.
  3. Team, BVMSports (July 1, 2023). "USC's Courtney Jaco Promoted To Women's Basketball Assistant Coach". BVM Sports.
  4. "Nneka Enemkpali Joins Women's Basketball Coaching Staff".
  5. "McKenzie Forbes Grad Transfers to USC". USC Basketball. April 23, 2023.
  6. "USC Welcomes Mid-Year Transfer Dominique Onu From UCLA". USC Athletics. July 1, 2023.
  7. https://twitter.com/CULionsWBB/status/1655745212554117122
  8. Carnathan, Walker. "Kayla Padilla of Penn women's basketball announces graduate transfer to USC". www.thedp.com.
  9. "2023 High School Girls' Basketball Recruits - USC - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  10. "Top women's hoops recruit Watkins chooses USC". ESPN.com. November 15, 2022.
  11. "2023 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  12. "Graney: Aaliyah Gayles authoring a remarkable comeback story". March 2, 2023.
  13. Selbe, Nick (June 2, 2022). "Watch: USC Celebrates Graduation of Signee Aaliyah Gayles, Victim of April Shooting". Sports Illustrated.
  14. "2022-2023 USC Women's Basketball Schedule". USCTrojans.com. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  15. "Rayah Marshall". USA Basketball.
    • Incoming first-year Juju Watkins was ranked as the number one recruit in the nation.
  16. "Girls' basketball player of the year: Sierra Canyon's Juju Watkins, again". Los Angeles Times. March 19, 2023.
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