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COLUMBIA — Jazzy Davidson didn't have a night she's used to.
The Southern Cal women's basketball star freshman did not score until midway through the second quarter in a 101-61 loss to South Carolina in round 2 of the Women's NCAA Tournament on March 23 at Colonial Life Arena.
She finished 5-of-15 from the field for 16 points.
And according to Davidson, her performance proved to herself that she just "needs to get better."
"I have to get better. That's the bottom line," she said. "I think, obviously, it's hard to lose in general, but losing this way really sucks. I think I could have done a lot better for my team today."
It didn't help that the Trojans (18-14) were up against a defensive powerhouse in South Carolina (33-3). The Gamecocks outrebounded the Trojans 43-27 and had 17 steals.
"They're an elite defensive team," Davidson said. "There's no doubt about that. They have been all season. That's definitely a huge part of their identity. We just had to be tougher with the ball throughout the game. The turnovers were another big thing for us, just as a group."
Despite the loss, Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb said she wouldn't trade the season for anything. Southern Cal was without star JuJu Watkins, who tore her ACL in last year's NCAA Tournament.
"It's a hard way to end. Obviously, wish we had competed better," Gottlieb said. "But I'm also really proud of some of the things that we did this year. It's been hard not being exactly at the level and standard that we've set. But I wouldn't change anything because that's part of it, right? It's the journey and the growth and the learning.
"There wasn't one day I wasn't excited to work with this group. I think tonight is really a good thing for us to understand where we need to get, where we will get, what it takes to get there."
Two players — Kara Dunn and Londynn Jones — decided to transfer to Southern Cal for their senior year. And despite not getting the ending they wanted, they wouldn't have it any other way.
Jones, who previously played at UCLA, has been to the NCAA Tournament all four years. But she admits that this season was particularly special.
"I think just the group of girls, I think the relationships that I've built," Jones said on what made this run special. "I mean, I decided to come here in my last year, and there was no doubt that that's what I wanted to do. Obviously, Coach Lindsay and I had a relationship. But just the staff, the relationships that I've built with the girls, how connected we are off the court, it's so much more than just basketball, so it's meant so much."
Southern Cal will get Watkins back next season. Additionally, the Trojans will have three five-star recruits on their roster next year.
Gottlieb is excited for what's to come.
MORE: How South Carolina's Agot Makeer helped slow USC's Jazzy Davidson in top freshman matchup
"We've been able to attract really, really good people, staff, and players, to want to be part of something," Gottlieb said. "We've had some really good success the last couple of years, and I think we've shown people that we can be a player in this elite level of women's college basketball.
"We know where we want to be; we have seen it. We've been there almost, you know, two Elite Eights, and now we've not been there, and that's going to be a driving force to getting us to where we want to go."
Kamryn Jackson covers high school and college sports for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Greenville News, Anderson Independent Mail, and the USA TODAY Network. Please email her at [email protected] and follow her on X @KamxJack (formerly Twitter).
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: USC, Jazzy Davidson on blowout loss vs South Carolina in March Madness
Continue reading...
The Southern Cal women's basketball star freshman did not score until midway through the second quarter in a 101-61 loss to South Carolina in round 2 of the Women's NCAA Tournament on March 23 at Colonial Life Arena.
She finished 5-of-15 from the field for 16 points.
And according to Davidson, her performance proved to herself that she just "needs to get better."
"I have to get better. That's the bottom line," she said. "I think, obviously, it's hard to lose in general, but losing this way really sucks. I think I could have done a lot better for my team today."
It didn't help that the Trojans (18-14) were up against a defensive powerhouse in South Carolina (33-3). The Gamecocks outrebounded the Trojans 43-27 and had 17 steals.
"They're an elite defensive team," Davidson said. "There's no doubt about that. They have been all season. That's definitely a huge part of their identity. We just had to be tougher with the ball throughout the game. The turnovers were another big thing for us, just as a group."
Despite the loss, Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb said she wouldn't trade the season for anything. Southern Cal was without star JuJu Watkins, who tore her ACL in last year's NCAA Tournament.
"It's a hard way to end. Obviously, wish we had competed better," Gottlieb said. "But I'm also really proud of some of the things that we did this year. It's been hard not being exactly at the level and standard that we've set. But I wouldn't change anything because that's part of it, right? It's the journey and the growth and the learning.
"There wasn't one day I wasn't excited to work with this group. I think tonight is really a good thing for us to understand where we need to get, where we will get, what it takes to get there."
Two players — Kara Dunn and Londynn Jones — decided to transfer to Southern Cal for their senior year. And despite not getting the ending they wanted, they wouldn't have it any other way.
Jones, who previously played at UCLA, has been to the NCAA Tournament all four years. But she admits that this season was particularly special.
"I think just the group of girls, I think the relationships that I've built," Jones said on what made this run special. "I mean, I decided to come here in my last year, and there was no doubt that that's what I wanted to do. Obviously, Coach Lindsay and I had a relationship. But just the staff, the relationships that I've built with the girls, how connected we are off the court, it's so much more than just basketball, so it's meant so much."
Southern Cal will get Watkins back next season. Additionally, the Trojans will have three five-star recruits on their roster next year.
Gottlieb is excited for what's to come.
MORE: How South Carolina's Agot Makeer helped slow USC's Jazzy Davidson in top freshman matchup
"We've been able to attract really, really good people, staff, and players, to want to be part of something," Gottlieb said. "We've had some really good success the last couple of years, and I think we've shown people that we can be a player in this elite level of women's college basketball.
"We know where we want to be; we have seen it. We've been there almost, you know, two Elite Eights, and now we've not been there, and that's going to be a driving force to getting us to where we want to go."
Kamryn Jackson covers high school and college sports for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Greenville News, Anderson Independent Mail, and the USA TODAY Network. Please email her at [email protected] and follow her on X @KamxJack (formerly Twitter).
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: USC, Jazzy Davidson on blowout loss vs South Carolina in March Madness
Continue reading...
