Rivalry games come down to passion and determination, often pushing aside a team’s success on the season.

The Bruins are no exception to a rivalry upset.

UCLA women’s basketball opened last season with 23 straight wins before USC snapped the streak Feb. 13.

The Bruins went unbeaten again until March 1, when they lost to the Trojans once more.

Looking for redemption from last season, No. 4 UCLA women’s basketball (13-1, 3-0 Big Ten) will battle crosstown rival No. 17 USC (10-3, 2-0) at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday in its first game of the new year. The Bruins rounded out 2025 with two road wins against No. 19 Ohio State and Penn State.

“More so than anything tactical, (road trips are) about team bonding. It’s about understanding how to control the things that you can control, because there’s a lot on the road that’s out of your control,” said coach Cori Close. “So it’s those kinds of mental toughness and team connection things that really serve us well down the stretch.”

USC is a familiar foe for UCLA. The squads have faced off at least twice every year for the past 26 seasons. But in addition to the historic rivalry between the Bruins and the Trojans, this season carries a personal edge – former UCLA guard Londynn Jones will return to Pauley, this time donning the red and gold.

Jones transferred after three seasons with the Bruins and is currently averaging 12.5 points – the Trojans’ second-highest mark – and shooting 39.3% from the three-point line despite coming off the bench in all but two games.

“I want (Jones) to do well every game – except the two we play in, or maybe three, depending,” Close said. “It’s not my favorite, but more than that, it’s a really important game, and we want to win, and it’s going to be an amazing atmosphere.”

Guard Jazzy Davidson – who edged out Bruin freshman forward Sienna Betts as the No. 1 recruit from the 2025 class according to ESPN – leads the Trojans in nearly every statistical category, averaging 16.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while totaling 48 assists, 25 steals and 35 blocks.

Guards Kara Dunn and Kennedy Smith round out the Trojan’s top scorers, both averaging double digits as starters.

For the Bruins, five players are averaging double digits – senior center Lauren Betts, senior guards Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez, graduate student guard Gianna Kneepkens and graduate student forward Angela Dugalić.

Lauren Betts leads the way for UCLA, averaging 16.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest. The Centennial, Colorado, local is shooting 57.6% from the field and has dipped below a 50% clip in just two games this season.

Although the Trojans have a strong guard presence, their size option, 6-foot-5 forward Yakiya Milton, has not seen more than 12 minutes of action in a game all season.

The Bruins’ 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts and 6-foot-4 Sienna Betts hold an advantage on the inside, with the latter logging a career-high 16 minutes against Penn State after returning from injury.

The elder Betts has been vocal about expanding her offensive presence on the court from just the interior game.

“Midrange is something that I’ve been working on a lot in practice and in the individual workouts with JC (assistant coach James Clark),” Lauren Betts said. “He’s done a really good job helping me with my development and trying to spread my game in any way that I can, so I’m going to continue to work on that, for sure.”

Although the Bruins’ undefeated season is not at stake the way it was entering the rivalry matchup last year because of their loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26, a chance at an undefeated Big Ten season still hangs in limbo.

Tipoff at Pauley is set for 5 p.m Saturday.