While JuJu recovers, USC reloads

Trojans open the season with an 87–48 win, then head straight into No. 9 NC State and No. 2 South Carolina

Los Angeles, CA — I walked back into the Galen Center this season with a memory still sitting heavy. Just last season, in the first quarter vs Ole Miss in the NCAA Sweet 16, with 4:43 left on the clock and USC up 13–2 — JuJu went down and tore her ACL.

That moment didn’t just take a star out of the rotation. It shifted the entire atmosphere in that building. Even hurt, JuJu continued to impact this program. You could feel how much she meant and how much she still means — even in her absence.

On Nov. 4 at the Galen Center, USC opened this new season with an 87–48 win over New Mexico State.

Last year, USC finished the season as one of the best programs in the country. Big Ten champions. A number one seed. Elite Eight. Then came the offseason changes. Kiki Iriafen went on to become the fourth overall pick in the WNBA Draft to the Washington Mystics.

Rayah Marshall went in the second round to the Connecticut Sun. And longtime assistant Wendale Farrow left for Dawn Staley’s staff at South Carolina. Ironically that’s a team USC will face on Nov. 15.

Now here we are. New season. New roster. Same expectations. JuJu will miss most, if not all, of the season. There is a possibility she returns. There is also a possibility the next time she laces up, it’s in the WNBA. The encouraging part is that this group is not waiting around for a savior. They are proving they can hold their own.

Transfers Kara Dunn, Londynn Jones and Dayana Mendes came in ready and showed from game one that they can make an impact immediately.

THEIR DEFENSE

What jumped out most in this opener was USC’s defense. It wasn’t gamble defense. It wasn’t chaotic trapping. It was structured, connected, and intentional. You could see it in the way they cut off driving angles and forced New Mexico State into tough decisions. The Aggies finished with 24 turnovers, and USC turned those mistakes into 24 points. That is the definition of defense creating offense.

The Trojans’ rotations were so tight that New Mexico’s offense kept getting trapped in place — several possessions died right there as the shot clock expired.

Points in the paint? New Mexico State actually won that category for the entire game. But USC erased the impact of that by dominating every effort category, especially second chance points and points off turnovers. USC controlled the glass, cleaned up misses, and scored off broken plays.

That’s where this game separated. USC didn’t need to bully the paint to control the outcome. They owned the moments that require toughness and energy, the scrambles, the loose balls, the rebounding battles.

New Mexico State came in here rolling, too. They won their exhibition 70–35. But USC flipped that script. A team that had just doubled an opponent… got doubled themselves. That’s the power of defense and collective buy-in.

WHO STEPPED UP

Jones led USC with 16 points and added two steals. Dunn followed with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals. Kennedy Smith put up 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a block, and 2 steals. Mendes and Raulusaityte came off the bench and changed the energy, with Mendes knocking down all three of her threes for 9 points while Raulusaityte ripped down nine rebounds — that’s real bench production.

USC’S NEW IDENTITY WITHOUT JUJU

This team doesn’t look like a group waiting on JuJu to save them. They look like a group who took her standard, absorbed it, and kept moving forward with it. The identity is defense, depth, effort, and collective responsibility.

Last season was about individual star power. This season is about shared toughness. This season is about all five on the floor making the right read, the right rotation, the extra rebound, the swing pass, the second effort. They’re not trying to play like JuJu or replicate her stat line.

They’re building something that doesn’t shatter when one player goes down.

They also have something every elite program eventually develops once culture gets deep enough: next woman up doesn’t feel like a drop off. It feels like continuity. Dunn, Jones, Mendes, Smith… they move with confidence because the environment here demands confidence. They don’t look like transfers inserting themselves.

They look like Trojans. They look like a sisterhood that is bonded by responsibility. You can feel the chemistry already. And that is the sign of a real program. Talent can win a few games. Culture wins the long season.

WHAT’S NEXT

Next up is No. 9 NC State on November 9. They’re coming in hot. They just beat No. 8 Tennessee 80–77. And after that? South Carolina. A Dawn Staley coached powerhouse. The very program Farrow departed to help coach. Two immediate top-10 challenges are waiting on the schedule and USC will have to show this wasn’t just a one-night display of power.

Or maybe this wasn’t just a dominant opener at all. Maybe this was simply the tune-up before they walk into the two real measuring sticks of November… No. 9 NC State and No. 2 South Carolina.