Top Women's Basketball Teams Return to Court in November

South Carolina and UConn will face each other on Nov. 24 at the Mohegan Sun, two days before Thanksgiving. This matchup is the most anticipated event on the early women's college basketball schedule. The two teams met in last season's Final Four, a game that drew attention to a heated exchange between coaches Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley during the post-game handshake line. While the coaches have appeared to reconcile publicly since then, observers expect the handshakes before and after the rematch to be closely watched.

The schedule also includes a doubleheader in Paris featuring four ranked teams. This event will occur one day after Villanova and No. 13 Notre Dame open their seasons in a men's and women's doubleheader in Rome. Women's basketball games have been held in Paris for four consecutive years. This will be the second time South Carolina has participated in that specific event.

JuJu Watkins will return to the national spotlight when Southern California travels to Greenville, South Carolina, to play the Gamecocks. Watkins won the AP Player of the Year award as a sophomore before tearing her ACL in the NCAA Tournament. She missed the entire following year while recovering from that injury. Teammates and coaches describe her as raring to go for the upcoming season.

Additional matchups are scheduled for the weeks following Thanksgiving. Duke and UConn will meet in Boston, where Duke coach Kara Lawson previously spent a season as an assistant with the NBA's Celtics. UConn has won the last 11 meetings between these two programs, though they have not played since the 2023-24 season.

The ACC/SEC Challenge will feature a rematch of last season's Sweet 16 game between Notre Dame and Tennessee. Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame will face Mikayla Blakes of Tennessee. In the previous meeting, Notre Dame won 67-64. Hidalgo recorded 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals, and seven assists in that victory.

The season will culminate in Las Vegas for the second annual Players Era tournament. The participating teams include South Carolina, Southern California, Duke, Texas, UCLA, and Notre Dame. The first night of play features a national championship rematch between UCLA and South Carolina. Duke will play Texas, and Notre Dame will face USC. The second night includes a Final Four rematch between Texas and UCLA, along with games between Notre Dame and South Carolina, and Duke and USC.

This tournament brings together several of the country's top players, including Watkins and Hidalgo, who will lead their respective teams in the Las Vegas event.