# 2020–21 USC Trojans women's basketball team

The 2020–21 USC Trojans women's basketball team represented the University of Southern California during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Trojans play their home games at the Galen Center and are members of the Pac-12 Conference. The squad was led by head coach Mark Trakh, who was in the 4th year of his 2nd stint (9th year overall). This year, the season was shortened to accommodate safety measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, no fans were permitted at any of the games.
USC finished the regular season 10–11 (8–10) and earned the 8th seed in the 2020 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball tournament.

## Previous season

The 2019–20 Women of Troy finished unranked with an overall record of 17–14. In Pac-12 play, their record was 8–10, and they finished in seventh place. Because of the pandemic, the previous season ended abruptly after the Pac-12 Tournament, at which the Women of Troy reached the quarterfinals.

## Offseason changes
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Kayla Overbeck | 1 | F | 6'1" | Senior | Newbury Park, CA | Graduated |
| Stephanie Watts | 5 | G | 5'11" | Graduate Student | Wesley Chapel, NC | Transferred to North Carolina |
| Aliyah Jeune | 11 | G | 6'1" | Graduate Student | Westampton, NJ | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Jordan Sanders | 5 | F | 5'11" | Graduate Student | Springfield, MO | UC Irvine |
| Shemera Williams | 11 | G | 5'8" | Sophomore | Milwaukee, WI | Virginia |

### 2020 recruiting class

| Name | Overall Rank | Position | Position Rank | Hometown | High School | Height | ESPN Stars | ESPN Grade |
| Jordyn Jenkins | 41 | F | 10 | Kent, WA | Kentridge High School | 6'2" | 5 | 97 |
| Zayla Tinner | | G | 10 | Amarillo, TX | Amarillo High School | 6'2" | 3 | 90 |
| Amaya Oliver | | G | 30 | Stockton, CA | St. Mary's High School (Stockton, California) | 6'2" | 3 | 89 |

## Current roster
### Player recognition

* Alyson Miura
** Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
* Amaya Oliver
** All Pac-12 Freshman Team Honorable Mention
* India Otto
** Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
* Alissa Pili
** Last year, Pili was selected as Pac-12 Freshman of the Year for the previous season. She was also a member of the All Pac-12 Team and the Freshman All Pac-12 Team.
** Pili was recognized with preseason awards as a member of the 2020–21 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Preseason Media All-Conference Team.
** Just before the season started, Pili was added to the watchlists for both the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award and the 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy.
** Honored as Pac-12 Player of the Week on February 8, 2021.
** All Pac-12 Honorable Mention
* Endiya Rogers
** The Pac-12 recognized Rogers with a preseason All-Conference Honorable Mention.
** On February 1, 2021, Rogers was recognized as the Pac-12 Player of the Week.
** All Pac-12 Team
* Jordan Sanders
** On December 28, 2020, Sanders was announced as the Pac-12 Player of the Week.
** Two days later, she was recognized again, this time as a member of the NCAA's Starting Five for Week 5.
** All Pac-12 Honorable Mention

### Injuries

* Tinner's (knee) debut as a Trojan took place on December 13, 2020 against UCLA.
* Jenkins (foot) debuted against Utah on January 8, 2021.
* Campbell was out from January 8, 2021 until February 5, 2021.
* Pili (ankle) returned to play against Washington State on January 15, 2021.
* Aaron (ankle) made her return to the court against UCR on January 17, 2021. She had been out for nearly two years.
* Jackson missed the Long Beach State game. She was then absent for the away games against Washington and Washington State.
* Miura (knee) made her first appearance this season on February 5, 2021 against Washington.
* Sanders was injured on January 31, 2021 against ASU. She returned to play on February 12, 2021 against Colorado.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site city, state |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| 11/25/2020* 1:00 pm, USC Live Stream | | Loyola Marymount | W 85–55 | 1–0 | 19 – Campbell | 16 – Oliver | 7 – Caldwell | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| 12/04/2020 4:00 pm, P12N | | at Arizona State | L 58–63 | 1–1 (0–1) | 15 – Rogers | 9 – Oliver | 6 – Rogers | Desert Financial Arena Tempe, AZ |
| 12/06/2020 12:00 pm, Arizona Live Stream | | at No. 7 Arizona | L 77–78 | 1–2 (0–2) | 18 – 2 Tied | 8 – Rogers | 7 – Rogers | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 12/13/2020 12:00 pm, P12N | | No. 11 UCLA Rivalry | L 52–73 | 1–3 (0–3) | 12 – Sanders | 8 – Jackson | 5 – Caldwell | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| 12/19/2020 6:00 pm, P12N | | No. 1 Stanford | L 60–80 | 1–4 (0–4) | 26 – Rogers | 5 – Jackson | 4 – White | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| 12/21/2020 2:00 pm, P12N | | California | W 77–54 | 2–4 (1–4) | 22 – Sanders | 9 – Oliver | 7 – Caldwell | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| 12/23/2020* 4:00 pm, USC Live Stream | | Long Beach State | W 71–65 | 3–4 | 23 – Sanders | 8 – Sanders | 8 – White | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| 01/01/2021 6:00 pm, P12N | | No. 8 Oregon | L 69–92 | 3–5 (1–5) | 20 – Rogers | 8 – Jackson | 4 – White | Matthew Knight Arena Eugene, OR |
| 1/3/21 | | Oregon State Canceled | | | | | | Gill Coliseum Corvallis, OR |
| 01/08/2021 6:00 pm, P12N | | Utah | W 60–59 | 4–5 (2–5) | 17 – Rogers | 6 – 3 Tied | 5 – Caldwell | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| 01/11/2021 12:00 pm, P12N | | Colorado | W 56–52 | 5–5 (3–5) | 16 – Sanders | 13 – Jackson | 5 – Rogers | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| 01/15/2021 4:30 pm, P12N | | No. 25 Washington State | W 81–77 $^{OT}$ | 6–5 (4–5) | 24 – Sanders | 9 – Jenkins | 4 – White | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| Originally 1/17/21 3:00 pm | | Washington Canceled | | | | | | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| 1/17/2021* 3:00 pm, USC Live Stream | | UC Riverside | L 52–54 | 6–6 (4–5) | 14 – Rogers | 6 – Jackson | 2 – 2 Tied | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| 1/22/21 4:00 pm | | California Canceled | | | | | | Haas Pavilion Berkeley, CA |
| 01/24/2021 4:00 pm, P12N | | No. 5 Stanford Moved to UCSC due to COVID-19 precautions | L 59–86 | 6–7 (4–6) | 19 – Rogers | 4 – Rogers | 2 – 2 Tied | Kaiser Permanente Arena Santa Cruz, CA |
| 1/29/21 4:00 pm | | No. 10 Arizona Canceled | | | | | | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| 01/31/2021 1:00 pm, USC Live Stream | | Arizona State | W 65–57 | 7–7 (5–6) | 30 – Rogers | 6 – Rogers | 5 – Rogers | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| 02/05/2021 7:00 pm, Washington Live Stream | | Washington | W 63–54 | 8–7 (6–6) | 17 – Pili | 9 – Jenkins | 2 – 2 Tied | Alaska Airlines Arena Seattle, WA |
| 02/07/2021 12:00 pm, WSU Live Stream | | Washington State | W 81–71 | 9–7 (7–6) | 22 – Rogers | 8 – Rogers | 5 – Rogers | Beasley Coliseum Pullman, WA |
| 02/12/2021 5:00 pm, Colorado Live Stream | | Colorado | L 56–66 | 9–8 (7–7) | 12 – Pili | 7 – Pili | 7 – Caldwell | CU Events Center Boulder, CO |
| 02/14/2021 3:00 pm, Utah Live Stream | | Utah | W 66–49 | 10–8 (8–7) | 17 – Rogers | 7 – Rogers | 7 – Rogers | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, UT |
| 02/19/2021 2:30 pm, P12N | | Oregon State | L 52–77 | 10–9 (8–8) | 13 – Pili | 5 – Pili | 4 – Rogers | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| 02/21/2021 12:00 pm, P12N | | No. 13 Oregon | L 48–72 | 10–10 (8–9) | 14 – Pili | 7 – Rogers | 5 – Rogers | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| 02/28/2021 1:00 pm, P12N | | UCLA Rivalry | L 51–93 | 10–11 (8–10) | 18 – Pili | 5 – Pili | 7 – Rogers | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| Pac-12 Women's Tournament |||||||||
| 03/3/2021 2:00 pm, P12N | (8) | (9) Arizona State First Round | W 71–65 | 11–11 | 16 – Jenkins | 6 – Jenkins | 11 – Rogers | Mandalay Bay Events Center Paradise, NV |
| 03/4/2021 2:00 pm, P12N | (8) | (1) No. 4 Stanford Quarterfinals | L 53–92 | 11–12 | 9 – 2 Tied | 11 – Jenkins | 2 – 2 Tied | Mandalay Bay Events Center Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not Ranked Previous Week |
| (RV) | Received Votes |
| (NR) | Not Ranked |
| ^ | No Poll |