After beginning its season unranked, No. 10 UCLA women’s basketball (9-1) has ascended into the top 10 of the AP Poll thanks to a strong nonconference showing that includes a Battle 4 Atlantis championship crown and a tight loss to No. 1 South Carolina. Now, before the Bruins end their nonconference schedule with a pair of matchups against non-Power Five opponents, the blue and gold will get a taste of Pac-12 play with a road matchup against crosstown rival USC (9-0). The Trojans remain unranked despite being undefeated because of their unimpressive schedule thus far, but they’ll certainly crack the top 25 if they can upset the surging Bruins on Thursday. Here is this week’s scouting report from staff writer Gavin Carlson, who purposely scheduled his flight home for Friday so he could make his first trip to the Galen Center for this intriguing matchup.

Personnel
Coach: Lindsay Gottlieb
Starting Lineup: G Destiny Littleton, G Kayla Williams, F Okako Adika, F Kadi Sissoko, G/F Rayah Marshall
Best Player: F Kadi Sissoko
X-Factor: G/F Rayah Marshall

Stat profile
Points per game: 74.0
Field goal percentage: 44.4%
Points allowed per game: 47.9
Field goal percentage allowed: 32.7%

Year two under head coach Lindsay Gottlieb is off to a perfect start for USC.

The former California head coach took a brief break from Pac-12 women’s basketball to be an NBA assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers for two years, but she’s back in the conference and already appears to have turned the Trojans’ program around in just a year and a half.

Easy schedule or not, USC is 9-0 for the first time since the 2018-2019 season, and if the Trojans garner an upset win Thursday, they would likely enter the AP Top 25 for the first time since being ranked No. 25 for a single week in January 2016. Gottlieb has accelerated the program’s rebuild by adding an eye-opening six transfers, four of which are starters.

The Trojans shook the women’s college basketball landscape last season in early January when they handed then-No. 4 Arizona its first loss in a Pac-12 battle at the Galen Center, so who’s to say they can’t do it again against their rivals? It’s certainly possible.

However, despite its perfect start to the season, we still don’t know much about USC.

The Trojans have not played a Power Five opponent yet, so it’s hard to predict how they’ll fare against comparable competition, let alone a top-10 UCLA team. But what we do know is that they’re demolishing lesser opponents by an average margin of victory of 26.1 points per game, mainly led by their three-headed monster of scorers.

After joining her third school in her career, graduate transfer Kadi Sissoko has found a home at USC as its best player thus far. The former Syracuse and Minnesota forward leads the team in scoring and scoring efficiency with 16.4 points per game on a staggering 59.8% from the field.

Sissoko’s sky-high field goal percentage would suggest that she strictly shoots from inside the paint, but the 6-foot-2 forward has a solid midrange game and is shooting 44.4% on her nine 3-point attempts. She thrives at the high post, where she can choose between shooting over defenders with her length or driving by defenders with her long strides and skilled finishing.

The offensive threat is the only Trojan averaging over 30 minutes a game, and she also ranks second on the team in rebounding after grabbing 6.2 rebounds per contest while leading the team with a total of 24 offensive boards.

If Sissoko has a weakness, it’s highlighted by her team-high 27 turnovers. Rarely do you see a frontcourt player average three turnovers a game. While this reveals her biggest flaw, it also emphasizes how much the ball is in her hands in USC’s offense.

Joining Sissoko in the front court is Rayah Marshall, who is not only one of the Trojans’ three best scorers but is arguably their most well-rounded player. Despite being listed as a guard/forward combo, Marshall is a towering 6-foot-4 paint presence who impacts the game on both ends of the floor.

The sophomore ranks third on the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game on 42.5% shooting from the field, but she is even better defensively. Even though she has only played seven of USC’s nine games, she leads the team in total rebounds with 60 and averages 8.6 boards per contest – almost two and a half more than anyone else on the team.

Above all else, Marshall’s best skill is probably her shot-block ability. She currently averages a Pac-12-best 3.3 blocks per game, her 23 total blocks rank 13th in the nation, and she’s the only player in the country who has blocked at least 20 shots while playing in seven games or less.

Credit most of the Trojans’ defensive success to her paint presence.

USC’s third player averaging double-digit scoring is its best perimeter player – graduate student guard Destiny Littleton.

Both of the Trojans’ top-two scorers were not on the team last season. Like Sissoko, Littleton is on her third team in her college career. She started things at Texas all the way back in 2017 before transferring to South Carolina and winning a national championship in a limited role.

Now, the 5-foot-9 Littleton is USC’s primary offensive player on the perimeter thanks to her skilled ball-handling, passing and isolation scoring. She ranks second in scoring for the Trojans with 13.4 points per game and is tied for first in assists and assists per game with 36 and four per game, respectively. The guard also leads the team with 16 made threes on a team-high 49 attempts from beyond the arc.

If the Trojans need a clutch play offensively, Littleton runs the show.

Joining Littleton in the backcourt is Kayla Williams. The junior guard transferred to USC after collecting a Big West Freshman of the Year award and being named All-Big West First team in her two campaigns at UC Irvine.

At 5-foot-7, Williams’ quickness can be a nightmare on defense for opposing guards, and she leads the team with 26 steals with nearly three per contest. She’s also tied with Littleton for first in assists and leads all Trojans who’ve attempted at least 10 free throws with a 91.7% free throw accuracy.

Her biggest weakness this season has been her 3-point shooting, as she’s made just 21.2% of her 33 attempts from deep. However, she collected 68 made three-pointers last season – the second most in Irvine history – and does have two games this season with three 3-pointers made. Don’t be surprised if she adds a few deep jumpers to an all-around performance on Thursday.

Rounding out USC’s starting lineup is its fourth transfer in the starting five, Okako Adika. Adika is on her fourth team in her college career after playing at junior college Odessa College, Butler and TCU prior to this season. The graduate transfer forward has been a shooter her entire career.

Adika led the Horned Frogs with 47 made three-pointers as a senior last season and was second in the Big East with a 44.6% 3-point percentage during her junior year with the Bulldogs. She’s currently third on the Trojans with 11 threes made this season and her 47.8% 3-point percentage is second-best on the team for players with at least five attempts.

Adika’s shooting compliments a USC starting lineup that has gelled quickly despite having four transfers. Against the Bruins, this Trojan starting five will play just its eighth game together on Thursday.