In what felt like a potential Final Four preview, the visiting No. 6 Notre Dame Irish, who led wire to wire, played spoiler to a crowd of 7,894 at Galen Center in Los Angeles, defeating No. 3 USC 74-61 to hand the Trojans their first loss of the season.

It was a sign of USC women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s program-rebuilding success, turning the Trojans back into a national championship contender — a sign of growing support and interest. But No. 6 Notre Dame was able to dissipate the ...

The No. 6 Notre Dame women’s basketball team (4-0) has breezed through the first 2 ½ weeks of the season, annihilating opponents by an average of 47.5 points. It’s hard to know what’s more impressive about the Fighting Irish.