USC women's basketball schedules home-and-home series with Notre Dame
The best interconference rivalry in college football will spill over to the hardcourt the next two years as USC women’s basketball has scheduled a home-and-home series against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the school announced today.
Lindsay Gottlieb’s Trojans will tip off against the Irish this coming season at Galen Center on November 23, 2024. The return trip to South Bend and Purcell Pavilion will happen the following year.
“We thought you all might like this matchup! Not just a football rivalry,” Gottlieb posted to social media following the announcement. “Excited for this high level series.”
The matchup will pit two of the game’s brightest young stars against each other as USC’s JuJu Watkins goes up against Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo. Watkins was named Freshman of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and ESPN. In any other year, Hidalgo would have been more than deserving. She led the nation with 4.6 steals per game and finished sixth in scoring, with 22.6 points per game. Watkins was No. 2 in scoring, at 27.1 points per game.
These will likely be two top-five teams when the preseason poll is announced. In ESPN’s “way-too-early” look at the women’s basketball rankings, Charlie Creme slotted USC at No. 2 and Notre Dame at No. 4. Talia Goodman of On3 had USC at No. 1 and Notre Dame at No. 5.
This is another big-time matchup for the Trojans this season. Previously, USC announced a home-and-home with national power UConn. The first game will be played at UConn on December 21 in a nationally televised game on FOX. The following year, UConn will visit USC at Galen Center.
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