2020–21 USC Trojans women's basketball team explained
| Mode: | Women's basketball |
| Year: | 2020–21 |
| Team: | USC Trojans |
| Conference: | Pac-12 Conference |
| Short Conf: | Pac-12 |
| Record: | 11–12 |
| Conf Record: | 8–10 |
| Hc Year: | 4th consecutive; 9th overall |
| Asst Coach1: | Jason Glover (4th season) |
| Asst Coach2: | Aarika Hughes (4th season) |
| Asst Coach3: | Erin Grant (2nd season) |
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.[1] 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 | | Graduated |
| Stephanie Watts | 5 | G | 5'11" | Graduate Student | | Transferred to North Carolina |
| Aliyah Jeune | 11 | G | 6'1" | Graduate Student | | 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 | | | 6'2" | 5 | 97 |
| Zayla Tinner | | G | 10 | Amarillo, TX | | 6'2" | 3 | 90 |
| Amaya Oliver | | G | 30 | | | 6'2" | 3 | 89 | |
[2] Current roster
[3]
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.[4]
- Pili was recognized with preseason awards as a member of the 2020–21 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Preseason Media All-Conference Team.[5]
- 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.[6]
- 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.[7]
- On February 1, 2021, Rogers was recognized as the Pac-12 Player of the Week.[8]
- All Pac-12 Team
- Jordan Sanders
- On December 28, 2020, Sanders was announced as the Pac-12 Player of the Week.[9]
- Two days later, she was recognized again, this time as a member of the NCAA's Starting Five for Week 5.[10]
- 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
|-!colspan=9 style=| Regular Season|-!colspan=9 style=| Pac-12 Women's Tournament[11]
Rankings
2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
| + Regular Season Polls | Poll | Pre-
Season | Week
2 | Week
3 | Week
4 | Week
5 | Week
6 | Week
7 | Week
8 | Week
9 | Week
10 | Week
11 | Week
12 | Week
13 | Week
14 | Week
15 | Week
16 | Week
17 | Week
18 | Week
19 | Final |
|---|
| AP | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | | | | | |
|---|
| Coaches | NR | ^ | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | RV | NR | NR | NR | | | | | | |
|---|
style="background:#D8FFEB; width:20px;" | | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not Ranked Previous Week |
| (RV) | | Received Votes |
| (NR) | | Not Ranked |
| ^ | | No Poll | |
Notes and References
- Web site: Pac-12 announces 22-game women's basketball league schedule for 2020-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20201117003929/https://pac-12.com/article/2020/11/13/pac-12-announces-22-game-womens-basketball-league-schedule-2020-21. dead. November 17, 2020. Pac-12.com . November 16, 2020 . December 9, 2020.
- Web site: USC Trojans 2020 Recruits. espn.com . December 9, 2020.
- Web site: 2020-21 USC Trojans Women's Basketball Roster . Usctrojans.com . December 9, 2020.
- Web site: 2019-20 Annual Pac-12 Women's Basketball Conference Honors Announced. https://web.archive.org/web/20200303184418/https://pac-12.com/article/2020/03/02/2019-20-annual-pac-12-womens-basketball-conference-honors-announced . dead . March 3, 2020 . Pac-12.com . December 30, 2020.
- Web site: Media selects preseason 2020-21 Pac-12 Women's Basketball All-Conference Team. https://web.archive.org/web/20201117170048/https://pac-12.com/article/2020/11/16/media-selects-preseason-2020-21-pac-12-womens-basketball-all-conference-team . dead . November 17, 2020 . Pac-12.com . December 30, 2020.
- Web site: Alissa Pili Named to Katrina McClain Award Watch List. Pac-12.com . December 30, 2020.
- Web site: Preseason Honors Keep Rolling In For Women Of Troy. Pac-12.com . December 30, 2020.
- Web site: Preseason Honors Keep Rolling In For Women Of Troy. Pac-12.com . February 1, 2021.
- Web site: Pac-12 announces Women’s Basketball Players of the Week, presented by Nextiva - Feb. 1, 2021 . Pac-12.com . December 30, 2020.
- Web site: Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark leads this week's Starting Five in women's basketball . NCAA.com . December 30, 2020.
- Web site: 2020-2021 USC Women's Basketball Schedule. USCTrojans.com . December 9, 2020.
