JuJu Watkins' triumphant return and 3 other takeaways from opening night of the women's college basketball season

The 2026-27 women's college basketball season tipped off Monday with a largely uncompetitive slate of action. The only ranked matchups on the schedule were No. 1 South Carolina and No. 20 Maryland in Paris, and a matchup of No. 12 North Carolina and No. 21 Oklahoma.

South Carolina kept tight hold of its stature as the country's top team by holding off a furious late Maryland comeback in a 101-93 win while Oklahoma's offensive identity showed in a 91-79 win over UNC.

Nine of the the AP top 10 teams in action cracked the century mark: No. 1 South Carolina (101), No. 2 UConn (100), No. 3 USC (100), No. 7 Louisville (119), No. 8 Vanderbilt (112) and No. 9 LSU (129).

All eyes were on JuJu Watkins taking the court for the first time in 588 days after injuring her ACL in the 2025 NCAA tournament. She delivered with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and an emotional post-game interview . No. 3 USC defeated UNLV 100-68 in the Hall of Fame Women's Showcase held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The redshirt senior showed flashes of her typical self in 25 minutes of action, but is still fresh off the injury. Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said Watkins is on a minutes restriction.

"I think she physically looks great, explosive-wise and all that," Gottlieb said. "It's just finding that rhythm."

Unlike her first two seasons when Watkins scored at least 30 in 22 games, she won't need to take over as regularly as she did for the Trojans to have success.

Sophomore 6-foot-2 guard Jazzy Davidson and freshman 6-3 wing Saniyah Hall, the No. 1 recruit in the class, can help carry the load for a balanced offensive attack. Davidson scored 23 on a standout 10-of-11 shooting from the field, plus 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. In her debut, Hall had 22 points while shooting 7-of-8 with 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

They looked every bit their No. 3 ranking, and worthy of a return as national champion contenders. The Trojans have not made it to a Final Four since 1986.

Maryland gives South Carolina late scare

No. 1 South Carolina turned what was expected to be the day's most closely contested game against No. 20 Maryland into a straight snoozer. The Gamecocks scored 27 fast-break points and 21 points off turnovers in the first half for a 28-point halftime lead. They led by as many as 31 in the third quarter.

But Maryland didn't go quietly in Paris. The Terrapins cut it to nine with 4:30 left, forcing Dawn Staley to call a timeout and reset her group. Maryland cut it to six, 96-90, again in the final minute. The Terps outscored South Carolina, 60-40, in the second half.

Maryland's Addi Mack fueled the comeback with career-best 35 points on 20 field goals, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range. The sophomore guard is one of four returning pieces from a squad that reached the second round of the tournament and will play a key role with senior guard Oluchi Okananwa.

That should be a confidence-booster for Maryland and a solid building block ahead of the Big Ten schedule, where USC and Michigan are top contenders. Maryland will also play No. 2 UConn in the non-conference schedule. The games will help the Terrapins' NCAA tournament resume, and prepare them early to level up.

It's an immediate opportunity for improvement on the South Carolina side that should scare the rest of the country. They played in the previous three championship games, haven't missed a Final Four since 2019 and head coach Dawn Staley schedules these early competitors to make sure those streaks don't end. She called out a lack of "competitive spirit" in the third quarter and described it as a "great learning lesson."

"I thought physically, we probably were a little tired, but when you're physically tired, the mental piece has to kick in," Staley said. "So I don't think we created enough habits when we're tired for us to actually lock in. … We're going to have to figure out how to play a 40-minute game every time we step on the floor, and there are things that we have to challenge them with, with growing and strengthening their mental toughness."

The No. 2 Huskies eased into the schedule with a 100-35 dismantling of Cornell. Sarah Strong, reigning National Player of the Year, and Jovana Popovic, an early contender for Freshman of the Year, each scored an efficient 19. Strong added 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 8 of the team's 25 steals. Twelve players saw at least six minutes of action.

The attention now turns to No. 5 Michigan on Thursday (6:30 p.m. ET, FS1), the first of nine ranked opponents on the boosted non-conference schedule. The Wolverines gave UConn an early scare last November, but the Huskies escaped 72-69 without losing until the Final Four. It's Michigan's season opener, returning their junior core of Syla Swords, Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway.

Buzzer-beater denies resume-boosting win

South Dakota State, a mid-major juggernaut, missed an opportunity at a NCAA tournament resume booster when Creighton guard Ava Zediker's fadeaway jumper bounced in at the buzzer. SDSU lost 73-71.

The Jackrabbits made the previous four NCAA tournaments as Summit League conference tournament champions. But the competition within their league is tighter, and North Dakota State won the regular season title with a shot at an at-large bid. Those don't come around often to non-power conferences.

SDSU's non-conference schedule features No. 6 Texas, No. 22 Oklahoma State, No. 14 Kentucky and No. 19 Ole Miss.

The Jackrabbits are one of the schools testing the NCAA's new age-based eligibility model. They added Mid-Major Player of the Year Brooklyn Meyer to the roster last week for a fifth season after a judge granted a temporary restraining order that allows her to compete while her case is heard. She's a three-time All-Summit League forward and 2026 Summit League tournament MVP.

She would not say when the temporary restraining order expires, according to The Brookings Register . No. 7 Louisville is in a similar predicament with forward Amiya Joyner.