Los Angeles, CA – Tuesday night at the Galen Center, No. 11 ranked USC felt unease by Portland’s pressure in the first quarter and changed it by applying back their own defensive pressure to create high octane offense that continued thru the second half onto a lopsided victory, 78–51.
Led by Freshman Jazzy Davidson, whom played the entire first half and kept her team in the game early on, made a couple of key steals to ignite either her own offense or assist one of her teammates.
“We have multi-dimensional players, like I said, we’re trying to get the ball to Ken [Kennedy Smith] in the high post or get to Jazzy in the high post, coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “They can make the right play, they can reverse it and someone can knock down threes, or they can go to the rim, or maybe they’re dumping it.”
Davidson finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists despite having five turnovers. Kennedy Smith after a sluggish start and moments of frustration found her rhythm by the second period, adding 13 points, six boards and three assists along with tying her record for triples made, three out of six.
“Last year, my role was a little bit different with my shot selection,” Smith said. “Coming in and trying to be the best version of myself is something that I’m trying to do this year.”
USC went on a 24–9 run in the second quarter and dominated until the final buzzer. The Women of Troy bench outplayed the Pilots though both teams played all of their active roster. USC outscored in every point categories—bench points (34–19), second-chance points (23–13), fast-break points (18–7) and most notably, points off turnovers (33–8).
Four Women of Troy players posted double figures including Davidson and Smith. Transfer Londynn Jones found her rhythm and shot from deep,hitting a game-high four triples to finish with 12 points, tying her season high. Also, transfer Kara Dunn warmed up for 10 points and seven boards including a highlight after an official review timeout where Smith found Dunn for a hail Mary pass that converted into an And 1, pushing the momentum for USC to a point of no return for Portland.
“It’s really unique to be able to play all these amazing teams so early into my freshman season,” Davidson said. “I’m just learning from my teammates and my coaches who have been there before and just learning from every game.”
Now USC (3-1) will have to carry their momentum into the home of their third ranked opponent already in the season when they matchup against No. 24 Notre Dame in South Bend, IN for a Friday rematch of last season. Tipoff begins at 6 pm on ESPN, ET.
