The No. 18 USC Trojans are playing this season without star JuJu Watkins, who tore her ACL in the NCAA tournament last spring, but their first big test resulted in a gusty 69-68 win against No. 9 NC State on Sunday. The game was by no means perfect, but it showed the potential of Lindsay Gottlieb's squad and could be a confidence builder as USC takes on South Carolina next weekend.

The Wolfpack is a very young group with no seniors on the roster, but it came into the 2025 Ally Tipoff game against USC on the coattails of an 80-77 win over No. 8 Tennessee in its season opener on Tuesday.

Gottlieb knows the Trojans are still adjusting to the absence of Watkins and other key players from last season. However, the coach likes what she sees from her players so far.

"Everybody's sort of in a n

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