In a Jan. 6 matchup against Oregon, USC senior guard Kara Dunn took a season-high 18 shots and made seven to tie her season best with 21 points. She also set a season-high with nine rebounds.

Whether that breakout performance was due to star sophomore guard Kennedy Smith being out or for any other reason, Dunn has done anything but look back.

Sunday’s 12-for-17 shooting performance and 29-point effort was the fourth straight game where Dunn took at least 16 shots — also the only four games where she has taken more than 14 this season. It was also the fourth straight game where she scored more than 20 points and led the USC women’s basketball team (11-7, 3-4 Big Ten) in scoring.

Despite Smith being back in the starting lineup Sunday, Dunn put together what was perhaps the crown-jewel performance of her recent run, leading the Trojans to a blowout 83-57 win over Purdue (10-8, 2-5).

“That is a mindset I probably should have had sooner,” Dunn said in a postgame news conference when asked about her increase in shot volume. “I’m grateful to be able to step up in this position, and I really hope I keep it going throughout the season.”

The massive win snapped a four-game losing streak that pushed the Trojans off the Associated Press Top 25, including three losses in which USC held multi-score leads and a 34-point dismantling by crosstown rival No. 3 UCLA (17-1, 7-0). 

Though a win against middling Purdue wasn’t enough to propel the Trojans back into the top 25, it was certainly a step in the right direction for Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb and company.

Leadership of Smith, Dunn proves key in win

After missing three games and part of the loss to the Bruins with a lower-leg injury, Smith performed well in slightly limited minutes Sunday, recording six assists, two blocks and two steals while shooting 2-for-4 from the field for 4 points. Known as a top defender in the NCAA, Smith looked nearly unstoppable in the paint for much of the contest after getting off to a slow start with two misses and a foul in the first few minutes of the game.

“Having Ken back on the court is a huge blessing,” Dunn said. “Even though she’s a sophomore, Ken is basically a vet, she … makes everything so much easier.”

Gottlieb said it was “incredible” to have Smith back on the court, but said the three games she missed were critical for the development of Dunn and star freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, who both had to take on increased roles in the meantime.

“Our best days are in front of us,” Gottlieb said in a postgame news conference.

Dunn, a transfer from Georgia Tech, has earned significant WNBA Draft buzz, aided by her recent run but propelled by consistent shooting. The senior has shot at, by far, the highest clip of a regular starter for USC this season, making 47.3% of shots from the field and an even stronger 39.2% from 3-point land. She is also the team’s second leading rebounder, with an average of 4.8 per game.

While she eclipsed both of her already-stellar averages with five rebounds and a 4-for-6 mark from beyond the arc on Sunday, Dunn was also praised for her leadership after the game, in particular due to her relationship with Davidson.

“KD, she’s a great leader. She has all of our backs,” Davidson said. “It’s just been really nice having that kind of voice for me as a freshman, and navigating through things. Obviously, losing is not fun, but I feel like just with her leadership, it’s really helped us get through that.”

Though Davidson struggled offensively Sunday, especially in the first half when she made just 1-of-7 shots from the field, the freshman finished with 13 points on a 4-for-12 clip, six assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block. Despite efficiency troubles — Davidson is shooting just 37.8% from the field and 27.6% on 3-pointers — she is among the biggest freshman names in the country, leading the team with 16 points per game, narrowly edging out Dunn’s 14.3 average.

Davidson was recently named the No. 16 overall player in women’s college basketball by ESPN on its midseason power rankings. She was one of just two freshmen on the list and the only Trojan to make the cut.

Iwuchukwu earns start; forward battle is far from over

Though the first four spots of USC’s lineup — Davidson, Dunn, Smith and junior guard Malia Samuels — as well as one of the best sixth women in the country, senior guard Londynn Jones, have all but secured their roles for the rest of the season, the forward spot remains in flux.

Five forwards — sophomore Vivian Iwuchukwu, redshirt freshman Laura Williams, junior Yakiya Milton, junior Gerda Raulušaityte and sophomore Dayana Mendes — have played at least 97 minutes. Three — Iwuchukwu, Williams and Raulušaityte — have started games, and none have clearly earned the starting spot 18 games into the season, Gottlieb said.

Iwuchukwu and Raulušaityte have switched back and forth throughout the season, both earning stints of at least five games as a starter, while Williams has earned one.

“It really is what we think is the best matchup for us in terms of what the opposing post player brings and also how people perform in practice,” Gottlieb said. “We expect people coming off the bench to be effective and ready too. We know we’re going to play multiple bigs for sure.”

On Sunday, Iwuchukwu earned her first start in over a month after Raulušaityte started seven straight games and Williams earned her first start of the season. Iwuchukwu made 3-of-5 shots for 7 points and picked up four rebounds to boot.

“She just comes in with a positive attitude every day. She’s always watching film, she’s always working, and she’s a tremendous athlete, and she remains coachable,” Gottlieb said of Iwuchukwu. “She’s strung together more positives than anything else [recently].”

Next up for the Trojans is a trip to Michigan, where they will face off against No. 13 Michigan State (17-2, 6-2) on Thursday at 5 p.m. before heading to Ann Arbor to play No. 7 Michigan (15-3, 6-1) on Sunday at 11 a.m. Both games are likely to prove difficult for USC, which is 0-4 against teams currently in the top 15. Returning home with a win or two will give the Trojans a much-needed resume-boosting win and a spark of hope as the NCAA Tournament looms about two months away.