Notre Dame Stuns USC in Top-6 Showdown, Hands Trojans First Loss of the Season
LOS ANGELES — The women’s basketball world turned its attention to Los Angeles this past weekend, where No. 3 USC and No. 4 UCLA hosted a pair of high-stakes matchups against top-6 opponents. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the games promised to be a feast for basketball fans, but it was the visiting No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish who stole the show in the first of these marquee matchups.
In front of a lively crowd of 7,894 at Galen Center, Notre Dame delivered a statement win, defeating USC 74-61 and handing the Trojans their first loss of the season. The Irish led from start to finish, silencing the home crowd with a dominant 16-2 run early in the fourth quarter that stretched their lead to 21 points and sent fans heading for the exits with nearly five minutes left to play.
For Notre Dame, the victory marked their first double-digit road win over an Associated Press top-5 opponent since February 2014. Head coach Niele Ivey couldn’t hide her pride in her team’s performance, calling it a “complete game.”
“This group, they’re special,” Ivey said. “I’m so grateful to be able to lead them, and just really proud of the way that we’ve been resilient.”
Guard Sonia Citron echoed her coach’s sentiments, adding, “This was just an early opportunity to show what we can do, and I think that we did that. I think we’re one of the best teams in the country.”
USC Faces Tough Lessons After Loss
For USC, the loss was a tough pill to swallow. It was their first non-conference home defeat since December 2021, during head coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s inaugural season. Gottlieb was candid in her postgame remarks, acknowledging the challenges her team faced against a formidable opponent.
“I just told the team in there, you don’t schedule this game because you think anything’s going to be a 40-point win,” Gottlieb said. “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. Given the fact it’s option two, our only choice is to be exposed, stay together and get better.”
The game was a showcase of elite talent, with several WNBA prospects on display. USC’s JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen squared off against Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles. The star power extended beyond the court, with celebrities like Michael B. Jordan and Snoop Dogg sitting courtside. Snoop even sported a custom Watkins jacket, but it was Notre Dame’s dynamic duo of Hidalgo and Miles who stole the spotlight.
Hidalgo and Miles Shine Bright
Hidalgo and Miles were unstoppable, combining to score or assist on 63 of Notre Dame’s 74 points—more than USC’s entire team. The pair made history, becoming just the second set of teammates in the last 25 years to each record 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists against an AP top-10 opponent. Hidalgo’s stat line was particularly jaw-dropping: 24 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals. It was her 10th career game with at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals, the most in Division I over the past 25 seasons.
- Hidalgo: 24 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 steals
- Miles: 20 points (including four 3-pointers), 7 assists, 8 rebounds
“Big-time player, big-time stage,” Ivey said of Hidalgo. “Not at all shocked what she did today … she’s so feisty, so energetic. It’s contagious for our group.”
Miles, meanwhile, did most of her damage in the second half, scoring 14 of her 20 points and going a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Gottlieb praised the pair’s dynamic play, saying, “You feel like you’re doing a decent job on Miles, and she goes crazy in the second half. Or then you think you make them take a tough shot, and then Hannah gets out in transition. So it’s difficult, it’s difficult to have two dynamic guards out there.”
Watkins Shows Resilience Despite Struggles
USC’s Watkins, a reigning first-team All-American, had a tough first half, scoring just 5 points on 2-for-9 shooting. She bounced back after halftime, finishing with 24 points on 10-for-25 shooting, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Notre Dame’s balanced attack. Watkins reflected on the loss as a learning experience for her and her team.
“I just think this is a learning experience for the whole team. So much to learn, as far as chemistry and everything,” Watkins said. “For me, the biggest thing is just staying poised and under control the whole game. It wasn’t the prettiest for me, so just continuing to lock in.”
Looking Ahead
Both teams have plenty of opportunities to prove themselves in the coming weeks. Notre Dame faces a challenging slate of ranked opponents, including TCU, Texas, and UConn. USC, meanwhile, will look to regroup before taking on Oregon and UConn ahead of their first season in the Big Ten.
“When it’s hard, it gets harder for everyone to block everything out and stick together. But that is what we will do,” Gottlieb said. “We knew this is unprecedented in terms of expectations, and so bring it on. We’ve got to get better, no matter what the outside world says. And this is what this game will do for us, and that’s the direction that we’ll go.”
Originally Written by: Alexa Philippou
