LOS ANGELES — The No. 16 USC women’s basketball team recovered from a sluggish start to hand Washington its first loss, 59-50, and win its Big Ten Conference opener.
The win marked head coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s 100th win as head coach at USC.
The Trojans (7-2 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) out-worked the No. 21 Huskies on the boards and grabbed 50 to Washington’s 38. The Huskies (8-1, 0-1) came into the game as the second-best rebounding team in the conference at 44.9 rebounds per game.
USC’s Jazzy Davidson recorded a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds and Kennedy Smith added 13 points on 40% shooting.
Washington’s Avery Howell, who previously played at USC, scored 16 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.
The Trojans will take a break from Big Ten play for their next game, but the competition won’t let up. No. 1 UConn comes to Galen Center for a 2:30 tipoff on Saturday.
Davidson took control for USC in the second quarter against Washington after the Trojans only put up four points in the first quarter. Davidson and Londynn Jones both made jump shots, but the Trojans turned the ball over four times and Washington outscored them 8-4.
Sayvia Sellers drained a deep 3-pointer to give the Huskies a 14-7 advantage with 7:52 on the clock before Davidson single-handedly scored six unanswered points.
The true freshman hit two midrange jump shots before dribbling in with her left hand for a layup to cut Washington’s lead to 16-13. Dayana Mendes made a layup of her own and Kennedy Smith scored on a 3-point shot to get USC its first lead of the game at 17-16.
The Trojans worked to disrupt the Huskies’ flow that was serving them so well in the first quarter and allowed 14 points — an effort that was enough to lock the score into a 22-all tie at halftime.
Sayvia Sellers, who was averaging 19.1 points per game before Sunday, had already reached 13 points by the break and was 3-for-5 on 3-point attempts.
Washington’s defense initiated one-on-one battles, becoming increasingly physical as the game went on. Davidson made a three from the corner to keep USC ahead 25-24 at the 7:52 mark as the Trojans continued their attempts to chase the Huskies — especially Howell — off the 3-point line.
USC cut down on turnovers and scored in spurts, but frequently enough to tack on 17 points in the third frame. A 12-2 scoring run kept the Trojans afloat midway through the quarter and they were able to close it out with a 39-30 lead.
Davidson made a bounce pass in transition to Londynn Jones for a layup with a minute on the clock to keep USC’s offense flowing.
USC fought through the Huskies’ physicality to add 20 points in the final quarter. Kennedy Smith’s turnaround jumper made it 51-46 in USC’s favor and Jones pivoted for her own jump shot in the final minute to help hold off Washington with style.
