Los Angeles, CA- Freshman Jazzy Davidson and Senior Kara “KD” Dunn both open the game with draining deep jumpers that would later open the paint for USC the remaining of the game to drive thru Purdue into a decisive victory, 83-57, Sunday afternoon at the Galen Center.
“It was really fun that it was also our alumni day. There’s nothing like the women of Troy in the history of this program, USC Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “…I thought it was a team effort and I thought obviously it was incredible to have Kennedy back. She’s a winning player and impacts winning. But I think what we’re going to see going forward here is that the time without Ken, while it’s been hard, has led to growth. And I think these two in particular, probably it showcases the most, you know, Jazzy just continues to get better, sharper, her impact on winning the defensive end…And you know, I’ve said it all year, Kara’s been an incredible leader and that’s more important to me than the stats.“
Women of Troy went on a 19-4 run led by Dunn, closing the first period and then Senior Londynn Jones came off the bench racking up a quick seven points along with Freshman Laura Williams making her presence known in the middle to give solid bench production in limited minutes while continuing to dominate Boilermakers into halftime, 42-27.
“I feel like me and Jazzy like through all of this, we’ve gotten like really close just talking on the court, off the court about things that we need to do for this team, things we can say to other people, things we need to do on the court for our team,” Dunn said. “And so through all this, I feel like, we’re really starting to like bond together and I just really wanted to keep pushing.”
USC starters played unselfish from beginning to end led by Malia Samuels, Kennedy Smith and Davidson six assists apiece whereas a team dished out 25 dimes and committed only 12 turnovers. In addition, despite losing the battle in rebounds, Women of Troy rallied 40 points inside the lane, including 18 layups.
“I think the last three games have been tough because they were possession games and we’re not talking about bad teams,” coach Gottlieb said. “anything could have shifted on possessions. I mean, gosh, a couple of them we had, you know, double digit leads. And so, I think just attention to detail, that every possession really matters, that games aren’t, you know, won the first quarter, second quarter, like you got to finish things that you know, we can do one thing well, but then we can’t be deficient in another area. Just real time lessons.“
Dunn balled out again for another 20+ game under her belt, scoring 29 points off efficient shooting, hitting 12-of-17 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range. Jones added 15 points and Davidson, 13.
“Kara, she’s a great leader,” Davidson said. “She has all of our backs and she’s super experienced. So, it’s just been really nice having that kind of voice for me as a freshman and navigating through things and obviously losing is not fun but I feel like just with her leadership, it’s really helped us get through that and I think our best days are ahead of us.
Purdue was led by Junior Guard Tara Daye, finishing with 21 points after carrying her team in the first half with 14. Junior Guard Kiki Smith came off the bench and gave Boilermakers much needed support, pouring in 15 points including three triples behind the arc off 50 percent shooting.
“Winning is always more fun, right? But we’re going to keep the foot on the gas…I had to strike a balance with what is our standard and what’s acceptable, but also getting to know we really believe we can do it,” coach Gottlieb said. “The day off is going to feel better. But I think they’re going to be highly motivated to do what we’re capable of doing going forward. And there’s the Big 10 is so hard and so good. You have opportunities all the time. And I want to see it, you know, I want to see them, you know, looking at it that way.”
USC travels back on the road to the Midwest to face Michigan State and Michigan, respectively, before returning home for a showdown with Iowa.
