The 2024–25 USC Trojans women's basketball team represented the University of Southern California during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Trojans were led by fourth-year head coach Lindsay Gottlieb, and played their home games at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California.2024-25 USC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PROSPECTUS. USCTROJANS.COM, October 2024 This marks the program's first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
USC entered their first season in the Big Ten expected to finish No. 1 in the preseason conference coaches poll.USC, JuJu Watkins Headline Big Ten Preseason Honors. Big Ten Conference, September 26, 2024 JuJu Watkins was named the preseason Big Ten conference player of the year.
The Trojans won the Big Ten regular season championship in their first year as a member, and earned a number 1 seed in the 2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.Kartje, Ryan – Fired up No. 1 seed USC feels disrespected by spot in women's NCAA tournament bracket Los Angeles Times, March 16, 2025 The season ended with a loss to the eventual national champion UConn Huskies.Guzman, Ed – March Madness: Paige Bueckers, UConn beat USC to reach Final Four. Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2024
Previous season The Women of Troy finished the Pac-12 regular season tied for second with UCLA. USC held the tiebreaker over UCLA, earning then the 2-seed in the 2024 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball tournament, where they won.
The squad earned their second straight bid for the NCAA women's basketball tournament, earning a No. 1 seed in the Portland region. They went on to beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the First Round, Kansas in the Second Round, and Baylor in the Sweet Sixteen, but lost to Connecticut in the Elite Eight.
They started the season ranked No. 21 and finished the season with a No. 5 AP ranking and a No. 6 ranking in the Coaches' poll.
Departures NameNumberPos.HeightYearHometownReason for DepartureTaylor Bigby1G6'1"JrLas Vegas, NVTransferred to TCU.India Otto2G5'9"GSLos Angeles, CAJoined staff as Coordinator of Player Engagement. Graduated.Kayla Williams4G5'7"SrLos Angeles, CATransferred to UC Berkeley. Graduated.Kaitlyn Davis24G/F6'0"GSNorwalk, CTDrafted in the 3rd Round (35th Overall) in the 2024 WNBA draft by the New York Liberty. Graduated.McKenzie Forbes25G6'0"GSFolsom, CADrafted in the 3rd Round (28th Overall) in the 2024 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. Graduated.Roxane Makolo30G5'10"GSQuebec, CATransferred to Georgia.Kayla Padilla45G5'9"GSTorrance, CAGraduated
Incoming transfers Name Num Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous SchoolKiki Iriafen44F6'3"GSLos Angeles, CAStanfordTalia von Oelhoffen55G5'11"GSTri-Cities, WAOregon State
2024 recruiting class Source:
NameOverall RankPositionHometownHigh SchoolHeightESPN StarsESPN GradeVivian Iwuchukwu47FImo State, NigeriaMontverde Academy6'3"494Rian Forester53GHelotes, TXBrandeis5'11"494Laura Williams89FTampa, FLSt. Paul VI Catholic6'1"491Kayleigh Heckel28GPort Chester, NYLong Island Lutheran5'9"597Kennedy Smith6GChino, CAEtiwanda6'1"598Avery Howell23GBoise, IDBoise6'0"597Brooklyn ShamblinGCarpinteria, CAOaks Christian5'9"3
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=""| Regular season
!colspan=9 style=""|
!colspan=9 style=| NCAA Tournament
Source: USCTrojans.com
Spokane regional 4 – Spokane, WA
Spokane 4 regional final
Game summaries This section will be filled in as the season progresses.
Source:
No. 20 Ole Miss (Aflac Oui-Play Game)
vs. Cal Poly
vs. Cal State Northridge
vs. Santa Clara
vs. No. 6 Notre Dame
Seton Hall (Acrisure Holiday Invitational)
Saint Louis (Acrisure Holiday Invitational)
vs. California Baptist
at. Oregon
vs. Fresno State
vs. Elon
at. No. 4 UConn
vs. No. 23 Michigan
vs. Nebraska
at. Rutgers
at. No. 8 Maryland
vs. Penn State
vs. Northwestern Due to the wildfires in the Los Angeles and Ventura County, the Northwestern road games at UCLA on January 12 and USC on January 15 were postponed.Northwestern women take forfeits for not playing January games at UCLA, USC over wildfire concerns Associated Press / Big Ten Conference, February 26, 2025 Northwestern forfeited the games in February 2025. UCLA and USC each were credited with a win, and the Wildcats were assessed two losses.
at. Indiana
at. Purdue
vs. Minnesota
at. Iowa
at. Wisconsin
vs. Ohio State
vs. UCLA (Rivalry)
at. Washington
vs. Michigan State
vs. Illinois (Senior Day)
at. UCLA (Rivalry)
Big Ten Tournament
(9) Indiana (Quarterfinals)
(5) Michigan (Semifinals)
(2) No. 4 UCLA (Championship Game/Rivalry)
NCAA Tournament
(16) vs UNC Greensboro (First Round)
(9) vs Mississippi State (Second Round)
(5) Kansas State (Sweet Sixteen)
Rankings
See also 2024–25 USC Trojans men's basketball team
Awards and honors JuJu Watkins was the consensus player of the year, winning John R Wooden award, the Naismith National Player of the Year, and the Associated Press National Player of the Year.Owens, Jason – USC's JuJu Watkins wins Wooden Award, earning consensus National Player of the Year honors from major outlets. Yahoo Sports, April 5, 2025
References
External links USC Athletics Site USC Basketball Fan Forums