How two games in two days in L.A. changed the NCAA title race

LOS ANGELES — The buzzer sounded and the party was on at Pauley Pavilion. Then-No. 5 UCLA had just knocked off defending champion and No. 1-ranked South Carolina 77-62, snapping the Gamecocks’ 43-game win streak. The Bruins rushed to the logo at half court, jumping up and down in celebration. Junior star Lauren Betts embraced recent alums Charisma Osborne and Camryn Brown courtside. A group of students rushed onto the court, joining in on the antics.

It was the second dramatic upset in a 24-hour — and 15-mile — span. On Saturday, then-No. 6 Notre Dame upended USC 74-61, leading the country’s third-ranked team by 21 at one point. The dominance of the shorthanded Irish had fans of host USC heading for the exits midway through the fourth quarter.

Two days in November in Los Angeles, two games that were the season’s most consequential to date.

Last season, the Gamecocks emerged as early contenders and held onto the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press poll from mid-November onward. Heading into March, they were the clear favorites to win it all, and after surviving a couple of scares, cruised in Cleveland to cap a 38-0 season and win a third national title in seven tournaments.

But after this weekend of upsets? The 2025 women’s college basketball title race is wide open.

Sorely missing graduated center Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina hasn’t looked as dominant this season, even before Sunday’s loss. Meanwhile, USC seemed to be building a superteam with JuJu Watkins, its new freshmen and transfer portal acquisitions, but that version of the Trojans hasn’t materialized. UCLA and Notre Dame had received preseason recognition, but have now vaulted themselves into that top tier, jumping to No. 1 and 3, respectively, in Monday’s AP Top 25 rankings.

On Sunday we examined how the Bruins got their big win. Now let’s analyze how this weekend’s games have reshaped the national conversation — and what we learned about each of the four teams.

UCLA is legit

Five games into the season, UCLA has wasted little time establishing itself as a national title contender. Sunday’s victory will likely go down as the biggest win in coach Cori Close’s tenure, the first time in history the program beat an AP No. 1 team (the Bruins were 0-20 entering Sunday).

Last year, the Bruins faced lofty expectations, spending nine weeks as the No. 2 team in the country. But things tapered off for them as Pac-12 play progressed, and they received a tough draw in the Albany 2 regional of the NCAA tournament, where they fell to the defending champion LSU Tigers in the Sweet 16. It was UCLA’s second straight loss in the Sweet 16. The program’s last Elite Eight appearance was in 2018.

But on Sunday, it was difficult to find weaknesses in the Bruins. This new-look UCLA — which started freshman Elina Aarnisalo and transfer Timea Gardiner, with another impact transfer in Janiah Barker coming off the bench — has depth and versatility; size and shooting; an ability to cause an assortment of problems defensively and to score in bunches on the other end. The Bruins have a two-way star in Betts, who didn’t put up mind-blowing scoring numbers (11 points) but managed to control the game on both ends (14 boards, 4 assists, 4 blocks).

The Bruins led by 21 points at halftime, 23 points in the fourth and were every bit the “buzz saw” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley deemed them. Sunday’s drubbing was the Gamecocks’ largest loss since 2019 — two national titles ago.

Betts said UCLA’s goal is to win a national championship. Sunday cemented that as a plausible ceiling for this Bruins team.

Hannah Hidalgo has entered the player of the year conversation

Entering the season, most analysts and onlookers pegged the national player of the year race as a two-way battle between UConn’s Paige Bueckers, the 2021 winner, and Watkins, last season’s freshman of the year.

But when Notre Dame and USC faced off on Saturday, Hidalgo was the best player on the floor. And she turned this debate into a three-player race.

The sophomore was a menace on both ends, finishing with 24 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals to record her 10th career game with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals, the most in Division I over the past 25 seasons. Her competitive edge — apparent not just in her play but also in her fiery celebrations after big moments — fuels a Notre Dame team that, because of injuries, is currently operating with a seven-player rotation.

Having Olivia Miles in the backcourt means that Hidalgo doesn’t have to do all the heavy lifting herself. It’s a nightmare pairing for opposing defenses to guard, and also allows Hidalgo to exert herself even more defensively.

The most memorable performances of Hidalgo’s collegiate career to date have come on the road: at USC and last season at UConn, when she put up 34 points, 10 boards and 6 assists to upset the Huskies. We’ll get another Bueckers-Hidalgo showdown, this one in South Bend, on Dec. 12, and a Watkins-Bueckers duel in Hartford on Dec. 21. Those games should serve as the next meaningful benchmarks in how the player of the year competition is shaping up.

USC was ‘exposed’

USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb didn’t shy away from admitting her team was “exposed” in their 13-point loss to the Irish. It wasn’t as lopsided as the UCLA-South Carolina game, with the Trojans trailing by seven at the half and pulling within three in the third. But it was evident USC has a lot of things to clean up offensively if it wants to reach Tampa come April.

With so many new players and freshmen on the floor, USC looked like a team that is still figuring itself out. The Trojans could have used the two-way presence of Kennedy Smith, a starter and top freshman recruit who is out indefinitely after undergoing an undisclosed surgical procedure. But their other stars struggled mightily: Watkins (5 points at the half, 10-for-25 shooting) was pressing at times and Kiki Iriafen (15 points, 5-for-15) couldn’t get into an offensive groove. Starting guards Talia von Oelhoffen and Kayleigh Heckel combined for 16 points (6-for-16), 1 assist and 10 turnovers.

Against Ole Miss in the season opener in Paris, the Trojans had similar offensive issues, also turning over the ball 20-plus times and shooting worse than 10% from the 3-point arc — suggesting Saturday’s issues aren’t one-offs.

After the game, Gottlieb said her players need to play fast, aggressive and in transition, but also with discipline and an ability to make reads if they can’t run a given set. USC needs to find ways to establish more offensive flow, and to improve its spacing.

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The numbers behind No. 1 South Carolina’s upset loss to UCLA

Check out the streaks that were snapped as No. 1 South Carolina falls to UCLA for its first defeat in over a year.

Gamecocks’ vulnerabilities laid bare — and what about Fulwiley?

UCLA was admittedly a matchup nightmare for the Gamecocks, and not every opponent will have that combo of length and shooting to give them problems. But South Carolina’s bigs couldn’t impose their will in the paint or on the glass, and the offense, limited to the half court, struggled. The team’s offensive issues aren’t entirely new: Against power conference competition this season, South Carolina’s best assist-to-turnover margin is 12-10 (vs. Michigan), and the Gamecocks have made an average of six 3s per game. But combined with the Bruins’ hot shooting night, it spelled doom for South Carolina.

There’s room for growth across the board, but one looming question is whether MiLaysia Fulwiley — arguably the player with the highest ceiling on Staley’s roster — can become the disciplined, consistent contributor Staley needs. The SEC tournament MVP went scoreless in the three minutes (all in the first half) she played Sunday.