It’s official: Jazzy Davidson, women’s basketball’s newest star, has arrived.

Halfway into No. 8 USC’s (2-0) Sunday matchup with No. 10 NC State (2-1), six disappointing quarters to start Davidson’s collegiate career had come and gone, in which the highly-touted freshman guard shot just 5-for-26 from the field. 

Yet, with her team down big to the heavily-favored Wolfpack, all eyes were on the former No. 1 overall recruit, especially while the Trojans are adjusting to life without superstar junior guard JuJu Watkins — and Davidson certainly didn’t disappoint.

After erupting for 13 points in the third quarter, Davidson hit a three to start a 19-7 fourth-quarter rally that brought USC back from an 11-point deficit, and she ended it on a dramatic layup with less than 10 seconds remaining to pull off a 69-68 upset win in Charlotte, North Carolina. The win flipped the teams’ rankings, catapulting USC up 10 spots on the Associated Press’ Top 25 and establishing the Trojans as a threat despite Watkins’ season-ending injury.

“I [told the team], ‘We gotta lock in. We can do this,’” Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb said of the 11-point comeback in a postgame news conference. “I just kept saying, ‘We can do this,’ and I felt like they believed that.”

Trojan guards show out

After shooting 0-for-7 on 3-point attempts and 25% overall in USC’s season-opening win against New Mexico State University (1-1) on Nov. 4, Davidson went into halftime Sunday having made just one of her 10 shots on the day — the first 3-pointer of her college career. 

However, Davidson flipped a switch in the second half, scoring three straight layups to start the third quarter and adding two more treys, including the one that kicked off USC’s 19-7 fourth-quarter run. The 19-year-old finished her night with a team-high 21 points on 34.8% shooting, while tacking on four assists, three steals and five blocks — all of which led USC as well — to earn her first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.

“I love [playing with Davidson]. We’re extremely proud of her,” senior guard Londynn Jones said in a postgame news conference. “What she’s done already so far has been amazing, and she has so much to look forward to.”

Jones got off to a huge start in the first half, scoring 14 points on perfect 4-for-4 shooting while drawing four fouls from the Wolfpack. Though she cooled down significantly down the stretch, shooting just 2-for-10 in the second half, Jones made it count when it mattered most with a late 3-pointer — assisted by none other than Davidson — to cut NC State’s fourth-quarter lead to two and set up Davidson’s game-winner.

Despite coming off the bench in both of the Trojans’ matchups thus far, Jones has been a major contributor in both contests, with her 19 points in Sunday’s game following up a 16-point performance against the Aggies. Jones’ 35 points through USC’s first two games are tied with Davidson’s for the most on the team.

“It’s all a feel for the game,” Jones said. “As a vet, being there before, doing whatever it is that my teammates need in that moment.”

After Jones and Davidson, the other Trojan to score in the double-digits was sophomore guard Kennedy Smith, who recorded 6 of her 10 points in the game during USC’s rally in the fourth quarter. Her contributions weren’t strictly on scoring, however; aside from delivering the game-winning assist on an inbound pass to Davidson, Smith grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and stole the ball away from NC State on its final possession to secure the victory.

“What makes Kennedy such an elite player is that she can impact the game without scoring,” Gottlieb said. “She makes other elite players better.”

Defense paves way for comeback

Smith’s steal — the Trojans’ third in the last 33 seconds of play, along with junior guard Malia Samuels and junior forward Gerda Raulušaityte — exemplified USC’s late lockdown defense that kept NC State from running away with the game. 

After the Wolfpack took a 68-61 lead, the Trojans held them scoreless for over four minutes of play, playing aggressively to force five turnovers; three of which were committed by NC State’s star junior guard Zoe Brooks, who ended with a game-high 24 points on top of 11 rebounds and six assists.

Brooks was one of three Wolfpack players with more than 10 boards — a major strength for an NC State squad that ranks ninth in rebounds per game among all Division I teams and out-rebounded USC 54-40 throughout the game. Even as the Trojans rallied back in the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack still led in rebounds for the final 10 minutes, making USC’s ability to rack up steals all the more vital.

“We had to dig in and not let them go to their strengths. [Brooks] is really good at everything … I’m a big fan of her game,” Gottlieb said. “We had to just lock in on the game plan, continue to do us.”

Heading into the season, Watkins’ absence cast doubt on the Trojans’ ability to compete for a national title, as reflected by USC’s No. 18 ranking in the preseason AP poll — its lowest ranking since 2023. However, Gottlieb and company aren’t backing down from a daunting nonconference schedule, with multiple big games still on the horizon.

“You don’t know exactly what you have until you’re put in these situations, which is why we schedule them,” Gottlieb said. “It’s a chance for us to redefine our identity.”

Next up on that schedule is one of USC’s marquee matchups: a bout with No. 2 South Carolina (3-0) at the “Real SC” event hosted at the Crypto.com Arena. The Trojans and Gamecocks will tip off Saturday at 6 p.m.