JuJu's return, No. 1 South Carolina's debut, more from opening day of season
Michael Voepel
,
Michael Voepel
ESPN Senior Writer
- Michael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women's college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women's basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
Charlie Creme
,
Nov 2, 2026, 07:00 PM ET
Reactions
Before the Golden State Valkyries have even had a chance to hold their WNBA championship parade, the 2026-27 women's college basketball season is underway. Monday's highlights included JuJu Watkins' return in No. 3 USC's 100-68 victory after missing last season with a knee injury, defending national champion UCLA's debut win, and the opening victory from No. 1 South Carolina in Paris.
Among the expected top contenders for national player of the year, Watkins had 21 points, No. 8 Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes had 27 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, and UConn and Sarah Strong (19) points cruised in their opener. Hannah Hidalgo -- 32 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists -- and No. 13 Notre Dame got the jump on everyone Sunday in a 99-75 win over Villanova in Rome.
We've only just begun on the Road to Columbus, where a champion will be crowned April 4, 2027, in Ohio's capital city. But the stars are already out and ready to pick up where the Valkyries and Atlanta Dream left off Saturday as the WNBA hands off to college ball.
Watkins eases back -- and gets plenty of help from loaded USC roster
Early in the second quarter against UNLV on Monday afternoon Watkins brought the ball up the court, dribbled right, beat her defender, juked one way and then the other and then went all the way to the rim with her left hand to score. That was vintage JuJu, back after 19 months after after knee surgery.
"I was great to just be out there with my team again," Watkins said while fighting tears in her postgame interview with CBS Sports Network. "I'm just grateful to be out here today. There were days where I could have given up. I kept pushing through and I'm just grateful that I'm here."
She looked healthy and as active and aggressive as she was pre-injury in March 2025. But Watkins' much anticipated return wasn't always as smooth as that second-quarter move despite USC's comfortable 100-68 victory. The 6-foot-1 junior missed eight of her first 12 shots and did not have an assist in the first half. Watkins was more settled in a more explosive and consistent third quarter (11 points in 10 minutes). She finished with 21 points on 9-of-22 shooting in 25 minutes. She did not play in the fourth quarter.
"We are still putting a restriction on JuJu's minutes and being intentional that she has the chance to ramp up," USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said after the game. "But she is only going to continue to get better. Physically she looks great with her explosiveness. It's just finding that rhythm and then we will see even more shots go down."
Watkins' early shooting struggles mattered little because this is the most talented team Watkins has played with at USC. She had plenty of help from her two high-profile teammates. Sophomore Jazzy Davidson and freshman Saniyah Hall, both former No. 1 recruits, turned in big performances and each missed just one shot. Davidson led all scorers with 23 points. Hall made 3 of 4 3 pointers and finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds.
The trio took turns running the offense and shared ballhandling duties. Their similar skillsets fit well together. They found each other for easy baskets and, along with Kennedy Smith, spearheaded a defense loaded with length and athleticism that forced 24 UNLV turnovers.
Still, Watkins' return was the dominant storyline.
"Just seeing all the hard work she's put in all throughout last season to get healthy and get better was incredible," Davidson said. "On top of that, the way she was there for all of us and how she has been such a great mentor to me has been amazing." -- Creme
No. 1 Gamecocks' offense explodes, defense will become more consistent
South Carolina scored 33 points in the first quarter, was up 61-33 at halftime and led by as much as 31 in the third quarter. So why did this game still go down to the Gamecocks needing to make their free throws in the closing minutes of their 101-93 victory at Oui Play in Paris?
Maryland rallied, led by sophomore guard Addi Mack's 35 points, and was able to get as close as six points in the final minute.
To be fair, the Gamecocks need time to develop their best rotations because there is so much talent on this team. But also, when you are as far ahead as the Gamecocks were, it can be easy to let up. Coach Dawn Staley will have lots of positives and negatives to show her team from this game.
Junior forward Joyce Edwards (23 points) and sophomore guard Agot Makeer (20) led the South Carolina offense. Senior post players Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins, who both missed last season with knee injuries, had a combined 15 points, 17 rebounds and 7 assists. It was good to see both WNBA draft prospects back.
South Carolina scored 25 points off turnovers, but surrendered 24 on its own giveaways. But the Gamecocks had 32 points on the fast break, with 52 points total coming in the paint. They can't necessarily expect that many easy baskets every game, but they are going to get a lot of them this season. -- Voepel
1:15
South Carolina holds off Maryland for season-opening victory
Reigning champs open title defense with new look
UCLA lost six players to the WNBA draft in April, but the No. 11 Bruins still feel like they can have plenty of impact on this college season. Sophomore Sienna Betts -- whose older sister, Lauren, was the No. 4 draft pick -- had 15 points and 7 rebounds in leading UCLA past Lehigh 73-53. Seniors Donovyn Hunter and KK Bransford combined for 24 points.
The Bruins will challenge themselves in nonconference play, but their biggest matchups won't come until Dec. 16-20, when they will face Duke, South Carolina and Texas consecutively. -- Voepel
1:14
Lehigh Mountain Hawks vs. UCLA Bruins: Game Highlights
UConn's depth stands out
Reigning national player of the year Strong headlines the No. 2 Huskies, who routed Cornell Big Red 100-35 in Hartford. But UConn made a statement with its depth: 11 of 12 players scored at least four points against the Big Red, including three others in double figures beyond Strong (who put together a typical performance by her standards with 19 points, 8 steals, 5 assists and 4 rebounds).
Senior point guard KK Arnold finished with 11 points as did two freshmen: Serbian guard Jovana Popovic, who joined Strong with 19 points (8-for-12 shooting, 3-for-4 from 3), as well as French guard Marine Dursus, who had 11 points off the bench (and also shot 3-for-4 from 3). Popovic stood out in the Huskies' exhibition play and might already be one of the standout freshmen in the country, while Dursus did not suit up in the preseason due to injury. Geno Auriemma said she'd only practiced for about two weeks before Monday's game.
And the Huskies hit the century mark despite not getting much from Blanca Quinonez, their second-best returning player, in her 15 minutes (Quinonez also spent most of the summer rehabbing after shoulder surgery, so isn't yet in top form).
The real tests will come over the next week, when UConn travels to Michigan for a top-five showdown on Thursday and then hosts Iowa for a top-10 battle on Sunday. Auriemma will get a much better sense of where his group stands then, but so far he has to be fairly pleased with how the season started. -- Philippou
Opening day triple-double
Last season, Washington had its best record (22-11) since program legend Kelsey Plum's senior season in 2017. Washington put a scare into TCU, falling in overtime in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
This season, the No. 16 Huskies are hoping to go even further, and got off to a good start behind senior guard Sayvia Sellers' triple-double in a 79-63 victory over UC San Diego. Sellers had 25 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds. -- Voepel
0:54
OU's freshman LeeLee Bell reflects on her debut vs. North Carolina
More top freshmen waste little time making impacts
Most of the top 10 players in the 2026 SC Next 100 were in action Monday, including USC's Hall, UConn's Olivia Vukosa and South Carolina's Oliviyah Edwards and Jerzy Robinson.
But one of the best performances came from a player ranked No. 38: Oklahoma's LeeLee Bell led the No. 21 Sooners over No. 12 North Carolina 91-79 at the Oui Play event in Paris. Bell had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for Oklahoma, which is coming off back-to-back Sweet 16 trips.
A freshman also led the Tar Heels: No. 4-ranked Kate Harpring had 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Both Bell and Harping looked prepared to be go-to players for their teams, even though they're just getting started.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.