The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Few idioms capture the Bruins’ February 13 defeat more perfectly. Long seen as untouchable, No. 1, undefeated, and the favorites to go all the way, they suddenly weren’t. On the eve of Valentine’s Day, their undefeated run came to a halt. As the dust settled, focus shifted from the court to the sidelines. For fans, it wasn’t just a slip-up in an otherwise dominant season; it was about the decisions the UCLA head coach made—and didn’t make. The backlash? Immediate.

Before Feb 13, this esteemed member of the Big Ten Conference had been on a 23-game winning run overall. Sporting conference heavyweights in Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice, the road to playoffs seemed like a breeze in the park. However, closely under the shadows followed the other California club in the Big Ten and the rest is history.

USC Trojans edged past the Bruins 71-60 with an uncontested performance by the Trojans talisman, JuJu Watkins. The Sophomore guard tore down UCLA’s defenses with a sensational 38-point and career-high 8-block performance. The 6″2′ American is currently averaging a stellar 24 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 43.2% free throw conversion.

USC set the tone from the get-go, establishing a 24-15 lead in the first quarter. The Bruins mounted a comeback in the second and third quarters as Cori Close got her team to get their act together. Both teams tightened their defenses in each half, and junior forward Lauren Betts helped UCLA secure a 52-47 lead by the end of the third quarter. It all crumbled in the final quarter as Watkins turned out to be to much to handle for UCLA’s defenses as she found her rhythm along with teammate Kiki Iriafen (13).

For a team that had long considered itself unbeatable, this defeat hit hard. And for the fans who had been riding high on their team’s undefeated streak, the disappointment quickly morphed into frustration with coaching decisions

Fans React to Coaching Decisions and Watkins’ Dominance in Bruins vs. Trojans

The coach brought in Londynn Jones to shut down Watkins. While Jones slowed her down at times, the damage was already done. The Bruins relied too much on getting the ball to Betts, and defensive breakdowns disrupted their coordination.

“When you just got your butt kicked in the fourth quarter against your crosstown rival, you want—bring it on. Give me the best you’ve got, because I want to step up into that space,” stated Close. “That’s how you get ready for March.”

However, fans of the side had their own takes. A user on X tweeted, “Can we pump the brakes on Juju now?” A joke attempted to signify how unstoppable Watkins was this game, The 19-year-old scored more 3-pointers in the first half (5) than she had in her last four games (4). Of course, all UCLA fans wanted to see an end to Watkins’ domination. The performance even saw Caitlin Clark comparisons drawn up for the USC star.

A user replied to the tweet, “Nobody important watched that game 😂 They’re just going to remember the 38pts game with 8 blocks.” We disagree. Fans eagerly awaited the matchup between the top two sides in the Big Ten, and JuJu delivered an amazing performance that didn’t disappoint. 

Another user replied to the tweet saying, “Cori Close should be fired for thinking Londynn Jones was gonna make life difficult for Juju 😂” As mentioned earlier, Jones was in charge of being JuJu’s main marker. And while Jones did slow down Watkins in the third quarter, she ended the game with 0 blocks and 0 steals. Despite the poor showing, Jones played 34 minutes without any changes to the coach.

The tweet was met by another snarky reply, “Lol she didn’t think that. Her game plan was to let Juju beat them by herself and she did 😂” Close failed to make any decent changes to her side that could counter Watkins’ onslaught. Tasking 5″4′ Londynn Jones to mark a 6-foot-plus JuJu may have been one of the most controversial calls a coach has made this season. 

A user stated, “Cori Close literally got out coached tonight but the refs bailed her team out at HOME!” The 47-year-old Lindsay Gottlieb certainly had Close’s number in this game as she outmaneuvered her tactics, especially in the final quarter. Many fans believe that the Trojans received unsubstantiated fouls during the game and the teams ended up drawing the same amount of fouls (18) by the end.