With new faces in new places, UCLA and USC add another chapter to storied rivalry

For UCLA, a strong, returning core of upperclassmen bolstered by the transfer portal has them setting their sights on a national championship. For USC, the devastating loss of JuJu Watkins due to injury, along with key departures to graduation and the portal, has the Trojans in a bit of a rebuilding and growing year.

But even with the new faces in place, the rivalry between the two schools is still as big as ever. Kara Dunn is in her first season with the Trojans after transferring from Georgia Tech. This is her final season of college basketball, and the loss already had her thinking about the next time these two teams will meet in early March.

”I’ve just been thinking this whole time, like the next time that we see them at home, one of my senior nights … that game is not going to go like how it went tonight,” Dunn said following the game. “I could feel the atmosphere going into the game, it felt good. I think we just need to carry that, get better, and we’re going to be a different team the next time we see them.”

For UCLA senior Kiki Rice, this game had a little bit of a different meaning for her. Rice recalled last season’s matchup at home when the Trojans came into Pauley Pavilion and clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the Big Ten Tournament with a statement win.

While the Bruins would eventually have the final say, defeating USC in the Big Ten championship game, Rice did not want her final home game in this rivalry to have a bitter taster.

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”Last year was obviously a tough finish here, and I think we all know we didn’t want to feel like that again on our home court. We just came out with a different mentality. That was last year, it’s a whole different team on both sides,” Rice said after the game. “Just recognizing that this is a new year, new opportunity to really go out there, play hard and be the tougher team … I thought we had the tougher team today, and that’s what led us to victory.”

This particular chapter in the rivalry had a little more of an emotional touch as well. Over the past couple of seasons, as UCLA has built a national championship contender and established a strong culture, Londynn Jones had been a big part of that.

This past offseason, Jones entered the portal and made the decision to transfer to USC. Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb acknowledged after the game that in the grand scheme of things, Jones’ return to UCLA as an opponent and as part of the rivalry didn’t quite hold any extra significance.

”I know it’s a story and everyone talks about it. Londynn is on our team now, she’s a really important piece for us. I don’t pretend that she didn’t play here. She helped them get to a Final Four … But it wasn’t really part of the prep. It wasn’t really part of the conversation,” Gottlieb said. “I think Londynn handled it well. I don’t think it was a factor in the way that people would want to make it a bigger part of the story.

But on the other side of things, UCLA head coach Cori Close couldn’t help but feel emotional when reminiscing about what Jones had brought to the program the past couple of seasons. This weekend, Jones was given her Big Ten championship ring from last year, along with personal letters from Close and assistant coach Tasha Brown.

”Once they choose another school, you really don’t have conversation … That would be considered unethical. But I did talk to Lindsay … and just asked Lindsay what she was comfortable with, if she was comfortable if Londynn had a good game, if I could heart it or say great job. And Lindsay said she was okay with that,” Close said after the game. “Londynn will always be a part of our journey here, and this building process includes her even though she’s wearing a different jersey right now.”

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”She made a tough decision that her and her family felt was right with her, and actually, we had a great discussion about it. She handled it the right way. We had honest conversations and she made the right decision for her,” Close continued. “That doesn’t have to take away all the great things that we shared. And I got a chance to recount some of those that I remember and that I value. I wish Londynn nothing but the best. Of course it’s a little weird, but I’m only not rooting for her a couple of times a year. Other than that, I’m always in her corner.”

And aside from the emotional element, this iteration of the rivalry saw friends on opposite sides. USC freshman Jazzy Davidson and UCLA freshman Sienna Betts were consensus top-five recruits in their recruiting class, and both played in the 2025 McDonalds All-American Game together as teammates.

The two freshmen have maintained their friendship, albeit being on opposite sides, and Davidson spoke about her first experience with this rivalry and balancing that amid her friendship with Betts.

”We try not to talk about our team stuff too much because we like to have a friendship side of that,” Davidson said. “The atmosphere was amazing. It’s really fun to play in big games like that, and it’s really good for the sport of women’s basketball.”

These two teams will meet one more time in the regular season, on March 1, in what will be the final game before the Big Ten Tournament.