USC Plays Miami in Arizona
FROM USC SPORTS BRANDS AND COMMUNICATIONS --
USC Women's Basketball to Face Miami In Scripps Sports Women's Basketball Showcase
Trojans and Hurricanes will meet Dec. 16 at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
LOS ANGELES — USC women's basketball will take on Miami in the inaugural Scripps Sports Women's Basketball Showcase on Dec. 16 at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, as announced by Position Sports and The E.W. Scripps Company on Friday, Aug. 14.
The Trojans and Hurricanes will tip off at 7:30 p.m. MST (6:30 p.m. PT) in the second game of a nationally televised doubleheader on ION. Defending national champion UCLA will face Duke at 5 p.m. MST (4 p.m. PT) in the opening game.
"We are excited to take part in the Scripps Sports Women's Basketball Showcase event, which brings a high-level doubleheader to Phoenix," USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. "Facing Miami in an NBA/WNBA state-of-the-art arena allows us another opportunity to put our program on a tremendous platform. We hope that USC fans will join us in Phoenix on December 16!"
USC's 2026-27 roster is positioned as one of the nation's elite, highlighted by the return of JuJu Watkins, the 2024-25 consensus National Player of the Year, and 2025-26 National Freshman of the Year Jazzy Davidson. Davidson led the Trojans in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks last season.
Junior Kennedy Smith returns after earning All-Big Ten Defensive Team honors, while USC welcomes the nation's No. 1 recruit in Saniyah Hall. Hall marks the third time in four years the Trojans have landed the nation's No. 1 overall recruit, following Watkins in 2023 and Davidson in 2025.
The Trojans also welcome the long-awaited debuts of international standouts Sitaya Fagan and Sara Okeke and added transfers Pania Davis (Florida State) and Ryan Bennett (UC Davis) during the offseason. Returners Laura Williams, Rian Forestier and Brooklyn Shamblin will also provide additional experience and continuity.
The Scripps Sports Women's Basketball Showcase is presented by Position Sports and The E.W. Scripps Company. The doubleheader will air nationally on ION, Scripps' national sports and entertainment network, which is available over-the-air, across pay television, connected TV platforms and streaming services and reaches more than 128 million households nationally.
Tickets to the doubleheader will go on sale, Thursday, August 20, at 10:00 a.m. PT at ticketmaster.com. One ticket provides admission to both games.
ABOUT POSITION SPORTS
Position Sports, established in 2005, is a premium event production and brand marketing firm that specializes in event operations, activation development, media relations, and digital engagement. Over the years, Position Sports has worked with many of the world's leading brands, including Nike, Jordan Brand, Red Bull, the Basketball Hall of Fame, ESPN Events, USA Basketball, Upper Deck, MLB, and T-Mobile in nearly every major U.S. city and on a global scale. Position Sports provides clients with the expanded strategic direction needed to succeed in the sports marketing arena, also known as Positioning. To learn more, visit positionsports.com or follow @positionsports on X and Instagram.
ABOUT SCRIPPS SPORTS
Scripps Sports serves professional and college sports leagues, conferences and teams with local market depth and national broadcast reach. Scripps Sports currently has partnerships with the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), Major League Volleyball (MLV), Pro Cheer League (PCL), ATHLOS track-and-field, the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, 2023 Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, the Utah Mammoth, the Nashville Predators, the Detroit Pistons of the NBA, the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA, Denver Summit FC of the NWSL and the NCAA's Big Sky Conference. Scripps Sports is owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP).
ABOUT ION
A leading general entertainment and sports network, ION's lineup features major cable and broadcast shows, original series, live sports and special event programming. ION is part of The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP), a diversified media company focused on creating connection. As one of the nation's largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of about 60 stations in 40 markets.
Also worth noting that Diana Mendes transferred to Miami so it will be fun to watch her play and brings more excitement to watch her play against her previous team!
