The last time USC women’s basketball played South Carolina was in the inaugural “The Real SC” game in November. The Gamecocks defeated the Trojans by a score of 69-52.
Now, USC has a shot to redeem itself against South Carolina on Monday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans are the No. 9 seed, while the Gamecocks are the No. 1 seed the sixth consecutive season.
“We’ve come a long way,” USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said, per the Orange County Register. “We’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs of the season and developed as a team. So have they. It’s a huge challenge in front of us, but we’re excited to still be playing and excited to take our shot at one of the nation’s best teams.”
South Carolina Shut Jazzy Davidson Down in the First Matchup
With superstar JuJu Watkins out recovering from ACL surgery, freshman guard Jazzy Davidson has stepped up as USC’s star player this season.
Davidson was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a First-Team All-American this season. But when USC faced South Carolina in November, it was only Davidson’s third game at the collegiate level.
The Gamecocks limited Davidson to a career-low eight points. The only other time she scored that few of points was in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament against Washington when she suffered a shoulder injury that nearly sidelined her during the NCAA Tournament.
Davidson said she was initially upset with her performance against South Carolina but her veteran teammates told her that those types of games are normal to have as a freshman.
“My teammates that have had more experience than me with college basketball knew that it was still super early on in the season,” Davidson said, per the Orange County Register. “The world wasn’t ending. (They said) it was OK, it’s expected to have a game or two like that your freshman season.”
Davidson led USC with 31 points to help take down No. 8 seed Clemson in overtime in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. She will look to do the same against South Carolina on Monday night.
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