HARTFORD, Conn. – As USC’s bench emptied onto the XL Center floor and the No. 7 Trojans defeated the No. 4 UConn Huskies 72-70, JuJu Watkins’ hands shot skyward. Rejoicing in her 25-point performance that led USC past UConn for the first time in school history, Watkins turned to the small group of red-and-yellow-decked fans in the sold-out arena and thanked them for their support.

“It was a little different knowing the story from last year and how they sent us home,” Watkins said.

This time something different was at stake. In April, the Huskies knocked the top-seeded Trojans out of the NCAA Tournament in the Elite Eight. But Saturday night’s 2-point win was still significant. Not just for Watkins and USC senior transfer Kiki Iriafen, but also for their coach Lindsay Gottlieb, who has long admired the program that UConn coach Geno Auriemma built.

“This is a really significant win, and it’s a really significant win because of the greatness of the UConn program and what Geno Auriemma has done for our sport,” Gottlieb said. “Throughout my high school career, this is what defined basketball excellence. We saw that and it gave us all a challenge to get better, to find players who want to get better and be among the elite. And I don’t think that’s gone away.”

Gottlieb is in her fourth season with the Trojans and aims to build a sustainable program similar to the Huskies. A season ago, USC won its second Pac-12 Tournament title in program history and made its first consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in nearly two decades. During her short tenure, she not only reminded viewers of USC’s success story – two national titles and three Final Four appearances in the 1980s, Hall of Fame players like Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, Cheryl Miller and Tina Thompson – but also about what it can be in the present. Watkins, last year’s national freshman of the year and first-team All-American, is the focus of the latest chapter. Wins like Saturday’s help make big goals feel more attainable.

Gottlieb grew up just outside of New York City but wasn’t recruited by Auriemma in high school. Nevertheless, when she was 15 or 16, she accompanied one of her friends to one of his camps. UConn was always the local draw, and after Saturday’s win, she recalled a trip she took during her senior year at Brown University in nearby Providence, Rhode Island, when she and her father drove to Storrs to UConn to face Tennessee.

“It was sold out,” Gottlieb said, “and I was in that building and saw that atmosphere.”

Saturday was also loud. And Watkins, USC’s star guard, said it may have been the largest crowd she’s ever played in front of. Nearly 16,000 people crowded into the XL Center, almost all wearing navy blue and white.

Still, Watkins added, “Just seeing my family here, all the SC fans, it meant the world.”

In case anyone needed reminding, the Trojans’ win solidified their status as one of this season’s national title contenders. The only loss at home came against Notre Dame by a margin of 13 points, 11-1. After the November loss, it would have been easy for members of the program to blame each other, Gottlieb said — and the Trojans would have fallen apart.

“As long as we stick together, it can make us better,” she told them afterwards. “And (the loss) has in every way.”

In Saturday’s win, the Trojans had the third-best defense in the country and the No. 15 offense. They convert in transition (nearly 20 percent of their points come in transition) and off turnovers (an average of 28.7 points per game), key metrics that could serve them well in the future. Their win over the Huskies reinforced that they could go out and strike first in one of the most anticipated games of the season. It showed that they gave up a 13-point halftime lead, trailed by a point with just under five minutes to play, and were still able to recover.

“No one got off the treadmill,” Gottlieb said.

Of course, having a supernatural star like Watkins helps calm nerves. In addition to being the game’s leading scorer, she added six rebounds, five assists and three blocks, including one just before halftime against UConn star Paige Bueckers. Bueckers was productive in the second half, finishing with 22 points, but she also guarded Watkins as the USC star got off to a fast start in the first quarter.

“Every scouting report you put together or every film you watch clearly shows a player who can’t guard (Watkins),” Auriemma said. “If she gets into the rhythm a little bit, you have to hope she misses.”

With the score within one possession and just 4:30 left to play, Watkins scored 6 of USC’s 8 points and assisted forward Rayah Marshall on the only basket she didn’t score.

“A lot of what she does is super hard, but she makes it look so easy,” Iriafen said. “We all know she’s a superstar, so playing with her definitely takes the pressure off everyone else.”

In the locker room after the game, the remnants of the pressure eased even further. The players doused Gottlieb with water as she entered. They jumped together and celebrated.

“It’s incredibly meaningful to me to bring a team here now, know we can do it and then actually do it,” Gottlieb said. “Really proud of the big win.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

USC Trojans, Connecticut Huskies, Women’s College Basketball

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