How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: #4 UCLA Bruins vs. #17 Southern Cal Trojans
The Bruins return home for a game against their crosstown rivals.
After sweeping Ohio State and Penn State on their first Big Ten road trip of the season, the UCLA women’s basketball team returns home to face crosstown rival Southern Cal at home this evening. Tip-off for this evening’s game is set for 5 pm and, like today’s men’s game, the game will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network (where available) and streamed on Peacock.
Last season, these teams made their own significant contributions to the crosstown rivalry with Southern Cal defeating the Bruins twice during the regular season to claim the Big Ten regular season championship while UCLA won the Big Ten Tournament title by beating the Trojans.
For a while, it looked like there could be a fourth meeting in the Final Four, but, after Juju Watkins went down with a torn ACL against Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Connecticut had different plans and the Huskies beat Southern Cal before beating the Bruins in the national semifinal.
Speaking of Watkins and her knee injury, while her rehabilitation is progressing, she will not play tonight or this season.
Last Time Out
On Wednesday, the Bruins played a very easy road game against the Penn State Lady Lions. This game was over as soon as Gianna Kneepkens hit a three-pointer with 9:15 left in the first quarter. The shot gave the Bruins a 5-2 lead and it began an 11-0 run for UCLA. By the end of the quarter, the Bruins were up by 17 points, 29-12.
In the second quarer, the Bruins continued to increase their lead and, by halftime, they had doubled up the Lady Lions as UCLA led 46-23 at the break.
The Bruins nearly kept up that pace in the third quarter when they scored 25 to Penn State’s 13, and after three, UCLA led 71-36. The fourth quarter ended up being the most competitive of the game, but even then the Bruins outscored the Lady Lions 26-25.
Four Bruins finished the game in double figures. Lauren Betts led all scorers with 25 points while Gianna Kneepkens hit five of seven three-point attempts en route to 17 points total. Kiki Rice added 16 while Sienna Betts contributed ten points in 16 minutes.
Speaking of minutes, no Bruin played more than 26 minutes in this game. So, hopefully, the starters will be better rested for tonight’s game than they would have been if the games against Ohio State and Penn State had been reversed.
After the game, Coach Close and Lauren Betts met with the media and one of the big topics was the development of all three freshman, especially because Sienna Betts had scored ten points in this game and Lena Bilić played 22 minutes. The third freshman Christina Karamouzi also managed to double her points total for the season, scoring five points in just six minutes. She had previously scored five in her previous nine games.
Southern Cal Trojans’ Starting Five
This is a very different Southern Cal team from last year. In fact, Kennedy Smith will be the only starter from last season on the floor tonight when the game tips off. Trojan head coach Lindsey Gottlieb will start a lineup with four guards and a forward.
This year’s Southern Cal team is led by freshman Jazzy Davidson. The 6’ 1” guard from Clackamas, Oregon is averaging 16.8 ppg. She has really picked up the mantle from the Trojans this year. Not only does she lead the team in scoring, she also leads the team in rebounds with an average of 6.8 rpg as well as blocks with 35 and steals with 25. She is also tied with Smith for the lead in assists with 48.
One Trojan starter who should be familiar to UCLA fans is former Bruin Londynn Jones, who transferred across town after last season. The senior from Riverside is averaging 12.5 ppg in her new uni. While she has only started two games this year, one of them was Southern Cal’s game on Monday at Nebraska. Considering that and the fact that she came to USC from UCLA, she is likely to start tonight too. Jones leads the Trojans in three-point percentage, making 39.3% of her shots beyond the arc.
Senior transfer Kara Dunn joins Southern Cal after playing at Georgia Tech last year. She is averaging 11.5 ppg and she is second on the team in rebounding with an average of 5.0 rpg. Her 37.0% three-point percentage makes her the second-best three-point shooter on the team behind Jones.
As I mentioned earlier, sophomore guard Kennedy Smith will be the only starter from last year’s USC team to start tonight. She is averaging 10.5 ppg. She is second on the team in steals with 24.
Lithuanian forward Gerda Raulušaityte will probably be the Trojans’ fifth starter. She has split starts with Nigerian forward Vivian Iwuchukwu. Raulušaityte is averaging 3.8 ppg while Iwuchukwu is averaging 4.0 ppg.
Only one Trojan bench player has averaged more than 14 minutes per game and that’s guard Malia Samuels. While she has started 11 of the 12 games she’s played in, she is only averaging 3.3 ppg. The two areas where she has contributed most are in assists where she is third on the team with 29 and steals where she is also third on the team with 19.
Analysis
While no UCLA team can underestimate a motivated Trojan squad, this is not last season’s Southern Cal team. Kiki Irafen, who with Watkins was a part of SC’s 1-2 punch, is gone as are Rayah Marshall and Talia Von Oelhoffen.
This year’s Southern Cal team has lost three of the six Top 25 teams they have played including an 28-point to #1 UConn and a 17-point loss to #South Carolina. They also just beat #20 Nebraska on the road.
So, this game looks like a typical UCLA-USC game. Throw the records out the window.
UCLA needs to show up like they did last Sunday against Ohio State on the road. If they can do that, the Bruins should come out with the W.
This is your UCLA vs. Southern Cal women’s basketball game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream this evening’s UCLA women’s basketball game:
#4 UCLA Women’s Basketball (13-1, 3-0)
Opponent: #17 Southern Cal Trojans (10-3, 2-0)
Series Record: Series tied, 54-54.
When: 5:00 pm PT, Saturday, January 3, 2026
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA
TV: NBC Sports Network (where available) with Cindy Brunson, Meghan McKeown and Elise Woodward
Live Stream: PeacockTV.com and the Peacock app
Radio/Audio
Satellite Radio: Sirius Ch. 106 and XM Ch. 195 (UCLA Call)
Online: uclabruins.com with Dave Marcus
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!! Beat $c!!!
Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.
Londynn Jones throws up an air ball for $c and the first quarter ends in a 16-16 tie.
Hello from Pauley Pavilion!