Women's Basketball | November 1, 2024

AFLAC OUI GAME PLAY | PARIS, FRANCE
#3/3 USC vs. #20/21 Ole Miss
Adidas Arena | Paris, France | Monday November 4th | 9 a.m. PT
Series record: FIRST MEETING
TV: ESPN (PxP: Ryan Ruocco | Analyst: Rebecca Lobo)

THIS WEEK
Ranked No. 3 in the nation, USC achieves its highest AP preseason ranking since 1984 as the Women of Troy enter their 2024-25 season with big goals from last season's NCAA Elite Eight run. Under the direction of the head coach Lindsay Gottlieb For the fourth time, USC will start the season in Paris, France. The No. 3 Trojans will face No. 20 Ole Miss in an Aflac Oui-Play game at Adidas Arena in Paris on Monday (Nov. 4) at 9 a.m. PT.

FOLLOW WITH
ESPN will televise USC's Aflac Oui Play game, with Rebecca Lobo and Ryan Ruocco. USC games will also be broadcast live on ESPN Radio and streamed at USCTrojans.com/listen and on the USC Trojans GameDay app, with Eli Kleinmann on the phone.

IN THE POLLS
USC is ranked No. 3 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches preseason poll to start the 2024-25 season. It is the Trojans' highest preseason ranking since 1984, when USC started at No. 1 after winning two national championships. USC finished last season ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll.

QUICK CONCLUSIONS
• With a 29-6 overall record last season, USC recorded its most wins since 31-5 in the 1985-86 season under head coach Linda Sharp.
• Last season, USC earned the program's No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1986.
• USC's 2024 NCAA Elite Eight run was its first since 1994.
• USC's 23 wins last regular season were its most wins since 1993-94.
• With its 10-0 start to the 2-3-24 season, USC recorded back-to-back 9-0 starts for the second time in program history, dating back to the 1983-84 (10-0) and 1984-85 ( 10-0) seasons.

LOOK AT THIS
Four Women of Troy are on their way to top honors this season, with Kiki Iriafen, Rayah Marshall, Talia von Oelhoffen And JuJu Watkins all named after 2024-25 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Watch List presented by AXIA Time. This is the second watchlist selection for returning Trojans Marshall and Watkins and the first for USC newcomers Iriafen and von Oelhoffen.
Iriafen, a 6-3 forward who was named the 2024 Katrina McClain National Power Forward of the Year, has joined the USC women's basketball program as a Stanford graduate. After a standout junior season with the Cardinals, Iriafen earned All-America Honorable Mention in 2024 and continues to raise the bar for herself with her first Naismith Watch List selection shortly after her first election as an AP Preseason All-American. Iriafen was also recently named to the 2025 20-player roster Katrina McClain's Power Forward of the Year watch list.
Marshall, a 6-4 senior center/forward, enters her final season at USC with 996 career points and 35 double-doubles. Her second stint on the Naismith watch list comes after she earned All-Pac-12 Team honors as a sophomore and Honorable Mention as a junior. She was also named to the NCAA Portland Region 3 All-Tournament Team for helping the Women of Troy reach the Elite Eight for the first time in 30 years. Marshall was also recently named to the 20-player list Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Watchlist.
Von Oelhoffen, an All-Pac-12 team selection from Oregon State, helped the Beavers reach the NCAA Elite Eight last year and now enters her first season at USC with a spot on the Naismith Watch List and the Nancy Lieberman National Point Guard from the Year Award Watchlist. Von Oelhoffen, a 5-11 guard, posted 5.0 assists per game last season while averaging 10.7 points per game for the Beavers. She received 2024 Pac-12 Defensive Honorable Mention and All-Pac-12 Team honors. Oelhoffen was also recently named to the list of 20 players Nancy Lieberman's Point Guard of the Year Watch List.
Watkins, a 6-2 guard, was the national freshman of the year last season and the second-leading scorer in the country. Now entering her second season with the Women of Troy, she has already scored at least 30 points in 14 games – a USC single-season record. Watkins was unanimously selected to this year's AP Preseason All-America list. Last year she was a Naismith Trophy finalist and was named the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Shooting Guard of the Year. Watkins was also recently named to the 20-player list Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year – Watch List for 2024-25.

GOLDEN GIRLS
Representing the United States, incoming USC freshmen Kayleigh Heckel And Kennedy Smith – both McDonald's All-Americans – teamed up to help Team USA win gold at the 2024 FIBA ​​U18 AmeriCup in Colombia, keeping the US title streak at the event alive. The pair combined for 31 points in the final game as the U.S. won its 11th straight gold with an 80-69 win over Canada. A 5-9 guard from Port Chester, NY, Heckel averaged 12.8 points per game along with 3.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game as Team USA remained undefeated in the AmeriCup. Smith, a 6-1 guard from Chino, Calif., led Team USA with 18 points in the gold medal game, including a six-point solo effort that helped give the U.S. team a decisive lead late . She finished the event with an average of 7.8 points. 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

BRING ON THE BIG TEN
Entering its first season in the Big Ten Conference, USC has secured its new league's top honors while also placing itself at No. 1 in the preseason rankings JuJu Watkins' Selected for Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year. Watkins also joins his fellow Trojans Kiki Iriafen on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. The Women of Troy were selected to lead the Big Ten in 2024-25, earning the No. 1 ranking from both coaches and media over No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Maryland and No. 5 Indiana preseason polls. All five were NCAA Tournament teams last season, with USC posting the group's best run with its Elite Eight appearance. UCLA and Indiana reached the 2024 Sweet Sixteen, while Ohio State reached the second round and Maryland played in the first round. The Women of Troy will host a competitive lineup of Big Ten teams at the Galen Center and challenge remaining opponents on the road. USC also has a home-and-away series against crosstown rival UCLA on its schedule. The Trojans will face two programs for the first time – Illinois and Wisconsin – while other matchups include the first visits by several Big Ten opponents to the Galen Center and the Trojans' first trips to multiple venues.

Notable:
– Entering the Big Ten, USC holds a record of 27-23 against current Big Ten teams (new members Oregon, UCLA and Washington are not included in the record).
– USC will face both Illinois and Wisconsin for the first time in program history.
– The 2024-25 meetings will feature first-time visits to the Galen Center for Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State.
– USC will play road games at Indiana, Iowa, Purdue and Wisconsin for the first time.

WE LOVE GOD
Entering her fourth season at the helm of an up-and-coming program, she is the head coach of USC women's basketball Lindsay Gottlieb signed a contract extension until the 2029/30 season. Last season, Gottlieb led her Women of Troy to a historic run to the 2024 NCAA Elite Eight. Gottlieb was named a finalist for the Werner Ladder National Coach of the Year award and led USC to its second-ever Pac-12 Tournament title and the The program's first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since 1986. At the end of USC's first elite selection. In eight appearances in 30 years, Gottlieb's team had compiled an overall record of 29-6 – the most wins since Linda Sharp's team in 1985- 86. As the No. 3 seed in the nation entering the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the Trojans achieved their highest national ranking since No. 3 in the final AP poll in 1986. USC had been picked to finish sixth in the Pac-12, but finished at the End second instead. With their highest-ever Pac-12 Tournament seed at No. 2, the Trojans beat Arizona, UCLA and Stanford to capture the 2024 Pac-12 Championship.

WNBA DRAFT DOUBLE
For the second straight year, USC had multiple Trojans selected in the WNBA draft, with the 2024 selection going to sophomores McKenzie Forbes (Los Angeles Sparks) and Kaitlyn Davis (New York Freedom). After taking key leadership roles in USC's advance to the NCAA Elite Eight, Forbes and Davis were selected in the third round (April 15) as the 28th and 35th overall selections, respectively. Both were transfers from the Ivy League to USC in 2023, and both have further cemented their place in the Trojans' history books, with 18 players now selected from USC for the WNBA. Two of Troy's women – Cynthia Cooper and Lisa Leslie – were selected to the WNBA's elite selection for the first time in 1997. Additionally, 14 other Trojans have been drafted from USC, including two picks in 2023 (Kadi Sissoko and Okako Adika) and now two more in 2024 with the selections of Forbes and Davis. This is the fourth time USC has selected two players in a WNBA draft. In 2012, Jacki Gemelos and Briana Gilbreath were selected by USC, and in 1997, Pam McGee and Tina Thompson were drafted by USC.

LAST SEASON
In the 2023–24 season, USC earned the program's first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since 1986 and made a historic trip to the 2024 NCAA Elite Eight. Entering the 2024 NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the nation, the Trojans reached their highest national ranking since No. 3 in the final AP poll of 1986. USC was picked to finish sixth in the Pac-12 Conference and instead finished in second place. With their highest-ever Pac-12 tournament seed at No. 2, the Trojans beat Arizona, UCLA and Stanford to capture the 2024 Pac-12 Championship. The 2023-24 Trojans finished the season with an overall record of 29-6, marking the the program's most wins since 1985-86. USC's 2023–24 season was also highlighted by a standing-room-only crowd at the Galen Center to watch the Trojans defeat rival UCLA. McKenzie Forbes He was named the Pac-12 Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, a record-tying 51-point game by the freshman JuJu Watkins in USC's first win at Stanford since 2002-03 and the honor of hosting and winning the NCAA first and second rounds to secure a trip to the Sweet 16. •