No. 9 USC dismantled by No. 1 South Carolina in second round of NCAA tournament
The USC Trojans (No. 9) went out quietly in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Monday evening, losing 101-61 to the South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 1). The Trojans had advanced to the Elite 8 in each of the past two seasons, but could not extend the streak to three as the season-long absence of JuJu Watkins was impossible to ignore.
It was their largest margin of defeat in tournament history, surpassing an 85-51 loss at the hands of Duke in the second round in 2006. The loss also marked their fifth in the last six games, with the only victory in that stretch coming in a round one overtime win, 71-67, over Clemson.
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Senior guard Londynn Jones led the way for USC with 20 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the field and 5-for-6 from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, who led the team in scoring throughout the regular season, was guarded tightly but still managed 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting (4-of-6 3PT).
Davidson joined the Watkins, Sarah Strong, Maya Moore, Cheryl Miller and Candace Parker as the only freshmen in women’s college basketball history to record at least 500 points, 100 assists, 50 steals and 50 blocks in a season. She posted 31 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in the round one victory over Clemson.
Turnovers were detrimental to USC’s success as they gave the ball away a season-high 27 times. The Gamecocks also dominated the glass, winning the rebounding battle 43-27.
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Sophomore forward Joyce Edwards paced South Carolina, dropping 23 points and shooting 8-for-12. Madina Okot, a senior center, secured her 22nd double-double of the season with 15 points and 15 rebounds as USC had no answer for her in the paint.
The Gamecocks erupted out of the gates on a 13-0 run, with Okot and Edwards combining for the first eight points of the contest. By halftime, the Trojans trailed by their largest halftime deficit of the season at 51-21.
Despite shooting 12-of-25 from deep in the contest (48%), USC made only 10 of its 34 shots (29%) from inside the three-point line. Sophomore guard Kennedy Smith struggled to put the ball through the net across her 30 minutes of action, shooting just 4-for-15.
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Kara Dunn, a senior guard who averaged 15.5 points per game on 47.9% shooting for the Trojans, was limited to just five points in the defeat (2-for-8). It matched her lowest-scoring game all season.
South Carolina will continue its tournament run against fourth-seeded Oklahoma after advancing to a 12th consecutive Sweet 16. They have now won 18 straight games at home.
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