As the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins women’s basketball teams continue their tremendous seasons, they do so while facing adversity during a tragedy in L.A. Throughout the Los Angeles area, dangerous wildfires have spread, taking many lives and homes from families. The Bruins and Trojans have experienced success this season, starting 16-0 (5-0 Big Ten) and 16-1 (6-0 Big Ten) respectively. Although the wildfires have affected both teams differently, they’re built to get through any kind of adversity.
The fourth-ranked Trojans, led by sophomore phenom Juju Watkins, have proven why they’re one of the top teams this year. After a trip to the Elite Eight last season, they have a team that is built to go even farther. USC’s Head Coach, Lindsay Gottlieb (Got-LEEB), spoke about her appreciation for the support her team is receiving from the L.A. community after their most recent win against Penn State, while also showing that same support back to them.
“What is incredibly important at this time is community, and even people who have lost a ton of things have said the feeling of community is what they want,” Gottlieb said. “We continue to support our community in any way we can.”
Watkins, an L.A. native, talked about having faith that everything will improve while giving thanks to the first responders who have been trying to minimize the statewide impact wildfires cause.
“The biggest thing for us and the community is to have faith and hope that things will get better, and we’re super grateful for our firefighters who are risking their lives on the front lines to keep us protected. We’re going to do everything we can to help out from a philanthropy aspect.”
The top-ranked Bruins have taken a similar approach to that of their in-state rivals. Their Head Coach, Cori Close, spoke to Haley Sawyer of the Los Angeles Daily News after their January 10th practice about how the team can stick together through this tragedy while providing joy to themselves and the community by playing basketball.
“We still get to play the sport we love and just because there’s so much hurt going on right now, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still find joy in playing this game that we love,” Close said. “At the same time not feeling guilty about committing to (resuming basketball activities) because we also know that’s a way to bring joy to others, too.”
Although the news about the fires has been on the minds of the Bruins, Close spoke about their ability to pivot through uncontrollable adversity.
“We already know how to pivot. We find a way and I have a lot of confidence in how to lead through these scenarios,” Close said. “We really rely on taking our emotions out of (the impact of the fires) and we’re going to make neutral, next right step decisions. I feel very equipped to handle this.”
For USC, they shared the same leadership approach when the news of the fires came out. Gottlieb spoke about making her team aware there are always bigger things to worry about than basketball while reassuring them of the importance of playing for them and the community.
“We try to communicate to our players that health and safety is the number one (priority) and it’s okay to focus on basketball,” Gottlieb said. “Our approach is to always make (the team) aware there’s bigger stuff going on around us, but giving them the ability to lock in on what they’re doing while they’re doing it. That has an importance as well in their community.”
The fires across Southern California have presented both programs with different challenges, including the players. UCLA junior guard and future WNBA prospect Kiki Rice told Sawyer how she’s able to focus on basketball while experiencing her first wildfire.
“It’s really an opportunity to remember how grateful I am to still have everything, and we still get to focus on playing basketball,” Rice said. “We still get to do what we love and we’re focused on continuing to move forward in the season while also thinking of everyone else who is going through tough times right now.”
The Bruins and Trojans have been adversaries for many years, and their rivalry has only strengthened with both teams off to great starts this season. However, both teams have positively impacted Los Angeles through all the hardships of the wildfires in a similar manner. With the city going through this devastation, they are doing so with the love and support of both USC and UCLA basketball programs.