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.

The Galen Center crowd buzzed as JuJu Watkins collected the opening tip-off.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.

No. 6-ranked Notre Dame women's basketball passed its first real test of the season when it beat No. 3 Southern California, 74-61, in Los Angeles Saturday. The Irish will take a 5-0 record into the Caymans Islands Classic next weekend, when they will play No. 19 TCU on Friday and Utah on Saturday. Both games are set to tip at 5 p.m. (ET).