When a superstar player isn’t playing like a superstar, all the attention will naturally turn to the head coach. Lindsay Gottlieb had to balance a lot of different considerations over the past few weeks for USC women’s basketball. Keeping JuJu Watkins happy and relaxed was one task, but the main task for a coach is to manage her roster over the course of a long season. USC played four games in 10 days from January 30 against Minnesota through February 8 versus Ohio State. In that 10-day sequence, it was important to not only try to win that night’s given game, but to make sure the roster was reasonably rested and fresh for the next game right around the bend. We’re going to talk about USC’s win over No. 1 UCLA in just a moment, but before we do that, we have to go back to what Lindsay Gottlieb did in previous weeks to make this UCLA victory possible:
“Lindsay Gottlieb played JuJu Watkins only 26 points on February 5 at Wisconsin because she knew she needed JuJu to save some energy for the February 8 game versus Ohio State. Gottlieb accurately sensed that she needed to give JuJu some physical relief during the grueling stretch on USC’s schedule. Once JuJu was able to get through the Ohio State game, she was able to rest up and refuel. Gottlieb expertly managed JuJu’s workload the past few weeks, and deserves great credit for that.”
There was a lot of negative chatter about Gottlieb when JuJu was struggling, but Gottlieb was trying to guide JuJu Watkins through that 10-day gauntlet packed with plane flights and very little recuperation time. Gottlieb knew there would be four full days off for USC between the Feb. 8 Ohio State game and the Feb. 13 UCLA game. Once JuJu Watkins got past the Ohio State game, she finally had time to take a real break, stay at home in LA, and recharge her batteries.
You all saw the end product of a little added rest against UCLA, which is no longer the only unbeaten team in major college basketball, men or women.
Lindsay Gottlieb played the long game, and that’s a big part of why USC beat UCLA to take over first place in the Big Ten. Yet, there’s so much more Gottlieb did to make this possible. Let’s go into that part of the conversation:
Keeping the faith
JuJu Watkins trusted Lindsay Gottlieb. That’s why she came to USC in the first place. That trust was really affirmed and rewarded in this game against UCLA. Superstars aren’t immune to slumps. Defenses have been blitzing JuJu all season with double-teams and aggressive schemes. Gottlieb needed to keep JuJu relaxed and confident. We saw how much that patience and perseverance paid off against UCLA. We can all calm down now and not worry about the coach and the star player not being in sync with each other. They went through a rough patch, but they’re still united, and after this game, they might be more trusting of each other than ever before.
JuJu Watkins praises Lindsay Gottlieb
JuJu Watkins with a very genuine reflection on her relationship w/USC HC Lindsay Gottlieb.
“Coach has just, always been by my side throughout the whole process, and she calms me down in moments, and puts me in the right position to do what I do.” pic.twitter.com/icp5PnG033
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) February 14, 2025
Recruits will notice how Gottlieb earns JuJu Watkins’ trust
Hard to overstate just how much this means to USC — not just this year’s team, but to the program. Recruits who admire JuJu are going to admire Coach G, and that’s going to have the right domino effect on (continued) talent acquisition on the trail and in the portal. #GoodCoach https://t.co/SmmjX0PS6n
— USC Trojans Wire (@TrojansWire) February 14, 2025
Teammates helping teammates
Kiki Iriafen did not play well in this game. JuJu Watkins had her back. In previous weeks, JuJu was not playing well and Kiki had her back. Rayah Marshall is dealing with various annoying injuries — hamstring, back tightness — but Clarice Akunwafo had her back in this game against UCLA. Lindsay Gottlieb has created a culture in which teammates help each other out at USC.
Two bigs against Lauren Betts
Gottlieb knew Clarice Akunwafo would be needed against UCLA center Lauren Betts. It’s important for USC to throw both Akunwafo and Rayah Marshall at Betts, so that each player is physically fresh and doesn’t have to carry the defensive workload herself. By using the two bigs, USC has 10 fouls to give against Betts, a National Player of the Year candidate and likely finalist. Against UCLA on Thursday, USC used eight of those 10 fouls and, ultimately, did a solid job on Betts. UCLA’s best player was good — 18 points, 13 rebounds — but not overwhelming. She finished 5 of 13 from the field and struggled to score alongside the rest of the Bruins in the fourth quarter. Gottlieb’s rotation of bigs worked.
Elite defense with Beth Burns
Gottlieb has made so many great decisions at USC. One of her biggest and most important decisions was the move to bring on longtime women’s basketball coach and defensive tactician Beth Burns as her lead assistant. Burns and D’Anton Lynn are both elite defensive coordinators at USC. We can’t emphasize that point enough. Burns’ USC defense held UCLA’s offense to 15 points in the final 17:14 of this game. UCLA had 45 points with 7:14 left in the third quarter and managed just 15 total points the rest of the way, scoring only eight in the entire fourth quarter. USC’s 24-8 fourth quarter was the difference in the game. The Beth Burns decision just keeps paying off for USC women’s basketball. That’s a decision Lindsay Gottlieb made, not anyone else.
Three freshmen
USC’s main rotation of eight players included three freshmen: starter Kennedy Smith and reserves Kayleigh Heckel and Avery Howell. Beating No. 1 UCLA with three freshmen on the floor is pretty wild, right? Lindsay Gottlieb and her staff have built a team good enough to enable freshmen players to be ready to play elite defense against quality opposition.
Yes, the three freshmen all struggled on offense against UCLA. They were a combined 3 of 16 from the field. Yet, what do we always say about JuJu Watkins? Her offense doesn’t negatively affect her defense. JuJu always gives maximum effort on defense regardless of whether her shots are falling. Against UCLA, the three freshmen did the same thing. They weren’t hitting shots, but they all played great defense to lock down UCLA’s perimeter shooters. UCLA guards Londynn Jones, Kiki Rice, and Elina Aarnisalo were a combined 7 of 21 — 33 percent — from the field. UCLA finished 2 of 13 — 15 percent — from the field. You can’t play much better defense than that.
Lindsay Gottlieb and Beth Burns, and the rest of the USC coaching staff, are not perfect, but they have been absolutely amazing in terms of making sure every player plays great defense regardless of how well (or poorly) they shoot the ball on offense. It’s the single best attribute of this coaching staff, and it continues to pay dividends to USC.
Pete Carroll-style USC win
“Can you win in the first quarter? NO. Can you win in the second quarter? NO. Can you win in the third quarter? NO! Can you win in the fourth quarter? YES!”
If you have heard Pete Carroll in a winning locker room once, you have heard him many times. Pete is a football preacher whose Gospel message is that it’s all about the fourth quarter, and finishing the job when it counts.
The fourth-quarter scoreboard against the Bruins on Thursday night: USC 24, UCLA 8.
Lindsay Gottlieb and her team were at their best when it mattered. They finished UCLA, and they ended the Bruins’ hopes of being unbeaten.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Lindsay Gottlieb was elite for USC women’s basketball vs UCLA and OSU
