Upsets and narrow saves dominate midweek women’s hoops storylines

The GIST: Several top-25 women’s hoops teams suffered upsets last night, while others squeaked by with last-minute saves. In other words, it was women’s hoops at its finest.

❤️ No. 6 USC hands No. 1 UCLA first loss: The Battle for LA was a truly star-studded affair, but it was Juju Watkins who really shone, leading the Trojans with a historic 38 point, 11 rebound, eight block, and five assist performance as they pulled off a gutsy 71–60 win and snapped the Bruins’ program record 23-game win streak. Earning all the flowers.

🤘 No. 3 Texas crushes No. 8 Kentucky: The Longhorns are absolutely rolling, taking their momentum from Sunday’s win over No. 4 South Carolina straight to Kentucky’s home court. Both teams had a brutal shooting night, but the ’Horns made up for it by killing Kentucky on the boards in the resounding 67–49 dub. Building a win, brick by brick.

• But in the cutthroat SEC, the challenges just keep coming: Texas will face their third straight top-10 opponent in No. 5 LSU Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ABC. Gotta beat the best to be the best, right?

😲 No. 9 Ohio State escapes Minnesota in overtime: Bruised from last week’s nightmarish road trip to the Big Ten’s LA schools, the Buckeyes came this close to dropping their third straight game last night. Forward Cotie McMahon put OSU on her back with 25 points, grinding out the last-minute 87–84 win to stop the skid. Whew.