When Lindsay Gottlieb put together a nonconference schedule she believed to be the hardest in the country, USC’s coach knew it would be an uphill climb. But that was the point. She wanted her team to be tested nightly, to play on “the biggest stages”.
“It’s not a schedule designed to win every nonconference game by an average of 40 points,” Gottlieb said earlier this month.
But after losing twice through a five-game gauntlet to start the season, a 40-point, nonconference win was precisely what the doctor ordered for the Trojans on Tuesday.
Any pent-up frustration still lingering from USC’s last-second loss to Notre Dame was promptly taken out on Tennessee Tech in an 85-44 win for the Trojans.
It was a particularly big night for freshman Jazzy Davidson, who bounced back from an eight-turnover performance in South Bend to tally her first collegiate double-double. Davidson nearly crossed that threshold before halftime Tuesday, and she finished the game with 20 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Davidson and Londynn Jones were once again USC’s most consistent options on offense. Jones, who was held scoreless in the loss to Notre Dame, poured in a season-high 20 points. Together, they made 16 of 23 from the field.
But it was USC’s defense that really overwhelmed Tennessee Tech. The Trojans were especially suffocating underneath, blocking 15 shots — the most since Gottlieb became coach. Tennessee Tech made just nine shots inside the arc.
USC held Tennessee Tech scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, then the first six minutes of the second quarter. It didn’t get any easier from Tennessee Tech from there, as USC rolled to a big bounce-back win.
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