“Allons-y!!!”: USC HC Lindsay Gottlieb expresses excitement as JuJu Watkins and team gear up for season opener in Paris

Lindsay Gottlieb's USC basketball team will begin their 2024-25 season at the Aflac Oui-Play Event in Paris. The Trojans will square off with Ole Miss on November 4 at the Adidas Arena in Paris, France to kick off their campaign.

USC made the official announcement of their trip to the French capital via Instagram on Tuesday.

"OFFICIAL: The Trojans are headed to France! We’re set to open the season against Ole Miss in Paris on Nov. 4, 2024," USC wrote.

Lindsay Gottlieb reacted to the announcement with a single word as she shared the post on her Instagram story.

"Allons-y!!!," Gottlieb wrote in French (which translates to 'Let's go').

Lindsay Gottlieb Instagram story (image source: instagram/coachlindsayg)

Furthermore, the Scarsdale, New York native expressed her excitement to coach the team in the Aflac Oui-Play for the first time.

"We are honored and excited to have been selected to play in the Paris game in 2024," Gottlieb said. "What an incredible platform: to open the season in an iconic city, on the heels of the Olympics, bringing USC to an international audience. I'm looking forward to sharing this opportunity with our players, creating lifelong memories, and being a part of an important moment for women's basketball as we kick off the new season."

The slated matchup will be the first-ever meeting between USC and Ole Miss. Last season, the Rebels had a good run with 24 wins and nine losses making it to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year.

Lindsay Gottlieb put together a great squad for 2024 season

Lindsay Gottlieb, a former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach, assumed the role of head coach for USC in 2021. She led the team to the NCAA First Round in 2023 and reached the Elite Eight in 2024.

USC finished last season with an impressive 29-6 record overall (13-5 in the Pac-12). 6-foot-2 combo guard JuJu Watkins was a big breakout star, averaging 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game.

This coming season, USC will join the Big Ten Conference and face teams such as Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, UCLA, and Purdue, among others. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb landed another top recruit from California, Kennedy Smith, just a year after the program signed Watkins, the number one player in the 2023 class. Another five-star recruit, Kayleigh Heckel, also joined the Trojans ahead of the 2024 season.