USC Trojans' Lindsay Gottlieb To Win Coach Of Year Honor? Watch List

USC Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb has been named to the Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Watch List.

Gottlieb has the Trojans sitting with a 23-2 record and atop the Big Ten Conference standings after pulling off the upset over crosstown rival, then No.1 ranked UCLA and handing them their first loss of the season last week. It was the programs first win over an AP No. 1-ranked opponent since defeating Kim Mulkey and Louisiana Tech in the 1983 national championship.

In her fourth season at the helm, Gottlieb has ushered USC into a new era as one of the top women’s basketball programs in the country and perennial national championship contenders. It’s the second consecutive season the Trojans have recorded at least 23 regular season wins since winning back-to-back national championships in the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons.

Their 15-game winning streak that began the week of Thanksgiving and lasted until early February was the school’s longest since 1982-83.

Leading the No. 4 ranked Trojans is star sophomore guard JuJu Watkins, who earned Big Ten Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors for the fifth time. The Los Angeles native stuffed the stat sheet against the Bruins with a performance for the ages in true Hollywood fashion.

Watkins finished the night with 38 points, 11 rebounds, eight blocks, five assists and one steal. She was the first player in college basketball, men’s or women’s to have a game with 35+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ assists, 5+ blocks and 5+ threes made in game over the last 20 years.

She continues to stake her claim as one of the best players, if not the best player in college basketball after a jaw-dropping performance.

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"I didn't teach JuJu any of that," Gottlieb said. "Just try to put her in situations to be her best self, and she does most of that work. What I was so impressed with tonight, obviously, was just the mentality she came out with.

“Obviously, the ball going through the net helps, but when we changed our coverages in the second half and said we can't just go one on one with (Lauren) Betts we have to double but the doubles gotta be good, she ends up with eight blocks as well. I thought our team stepped up and did a lot of toughness things that won us the game in the fourth, but I think this is a historic Galen performance that we should appreciate from JuJu and her team."

Stanford transfer forward Kiki Iriafen has been sensational in her first season in the Cardinal and Gold. The Los Angeles native is averaging 17.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Iriafen and Watkins were both named to Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Watch List. The award is presented annually to the top player in college basketball and one of the Trojans stars could be the first player in program history to receive college basketball’s most prestigious award since Lisa Leslie in 1994.

The Trojans face another tough Big Ten challenge with No. 22 Michigan State making the long trip out west. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. at the Galen Center.

USC sits atop the Big Ten standings with three games left in the regular season and no margin for error. They hold the tiebreaker over the Bruins and if both schools win their next two games, a rematch on March 1 will be setup a winner take all game for the Big Ten regular season title.

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