On March 24, 2025, USC women’s basketball played Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where then-sophomore guard JuJu Watkins — who was later named the Naismith National Player of the Year — went down with a season-ending ACL injury. Watkins would eventually announce that she would miss the entire 2025–26 season, marking a major setback for a program with national title aspirations.

One year later, the Watkins-less Trojans (18-14, 9-9 Big Ten) made their return to March Madness, but in an unfamiliar state: as underdogs. After earning a No. 1 seed in each of the past two tournaments, USC received a mere No. 9 seed, having struggled against top competition throughout the season in the absence of its superstar.

Despite their less favorable position, the Trojans still managed to leave their mark on the tournament, eking out an overtime win against No. 8-seeded Clemson (21-12, 11-7 ACC) in Saturday’s first-round matchup. However, USC’s season came to an abrupt finish in the second round, as the Trojans suffered a 40-point blowout loss to No. 1-seeded South Carolina (33-3, 15-1 SEC) on Monday.

With the loss, USC failed to reach the tournament’s second weekend for the first time in three years, following back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in 2024 and 2025. 

Nevertheless, Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb emphasized the game’s importance as a stepping stone for the young Trojan squad as they continue working to return to the top of the sport.

“I wouldn’t even call this a setback; I would call this a part of the journey to get where we’re trying to be,” Gottlieb said in a postgame news conference Monday. “I think our time will come, but not without work.”

Davidson propels OT win over Clemson

Saturday’s matchup with the Tigers proved to be one of the most tightly contested games of USC’s season and the NCAA Tournament, featuring 19 lead changes in a wild back-and-forth affair. The two squads went toe to toe in seemingly every aspect of the game, producing near-identical results in shooting efficiency, rebounding, turnovers and fouls.

With the score tied 61-61 as the fourth quarter came to a close, Clemson senior guard Mia Moore appeared to give the Tigers the win on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer; however, officials ruled that time had expired before Moore got the shot off, breathing life into the Trojans’ season via a five-minute overtime period.

“We don’t get second chances in life, so we need[ed] to take advantage of that,” senior guard Kara Dunn said in a postgame news conference Saturday.

After scoring 25 points in regulation, star freshman guard Jazzy Davidson took advantage of the overtime opportunity, sinking back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the period to give USC a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

Davidson put the team on her back throughout the entire game, finishing with a game-high 31 points — just one shy of her career best — while playing all 45 minutes. The former No. 1 recruit became the first freshman in 25 years to record 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in her NCAA Tournament debut.

“I literally told her, ‘You don’t ever have to give me a gift ever again, because those two shots in overtime were enough,’” Dunn said of Davidson’s heroics.

Dunn was an offensive sparkplug in her own right, shooting an efficient 7-for-11 and draining four treys to rack up 22 points. In total, Davidson, Dunn and sophomore guard Kennedy Smith combined for 65 of the Trojans’ 71 points.

“They’re always so locked in,” Gottlieb said of the star guards. “I wasn’t surprised that they made big, critical plays down the stretch.”

Trojans blown out in ‘Real SC’ rematch

USC’s first-round victory set up a rematch with the region’s No. 1 seed, South Carolina, in the Round of 32. The Trojans and Gamecocks previously faced off at the inaugural “Real SC” event in November at Crypto.com Arena, where South Carolina took home a decisive 69-52 win.

While their previous matchup started close — USC trailed by just 2 points at halftime before faltering down the stretch — Monday’s affair was far more lopsided. The Gamecocks scored the first 13 points of the night and never looked back, holding a 51-21 halftime advantage and eventually leading by as many as 46. Their 101 points marked the first time since 2001 that the Trojans have given up 100 in a single game.

South Carolina’s domination on both ends of the court continued for the entire game, outrebounding USC 43-27 and scoring 21 second-chance points. The Gamecocks also forced 27 turnovers, the Trojans’ most in a game this season, and dished out nearly twice as many assists.

“They’re an elite rebounding team,” Davidson said in a postgame news conference Monday. “We let them get too many second-, third-, fourth-, fifth-chance opportunities, and we knew if we wanted a chance to win, we couldn’t do that.”

After putting on a show against Clemson, Davidson and Dunn went ice cold in the first half of Monday’s matchup, combining for just 6 points on 2-for-11 shooting. Davidson eventually broke out of the funk, finishing with 16 points — though on an inefficient 5-for-15 clip — while Dunn tied her season low with 5.

“I need to get better. That’s kind of the bottom line,” Davidson said of her performance. “Obviously, it’s hard to lose in general, but losing this way really sucks, and I think I could have done a lot better for my team today.”

In her final collegiate game, senior guard Londynn Jones led USC with 20 points off the bench, including a season-high five 3-pointers. However, 18 of those points came in the second half, after South Carolina had already built up an all-but-insurmountable lead.

Jones and Dunn represent the Trojans’ two departing seniors, and both will be sorely missed next season. The duo both ranked in the top four in minutes played and points scored, with Dunn in particular emerging as the team’s best shooter through much of the campaign.

However, with Watkins set to return and USC bringing in the top recruiting class in the country — including the No. 1 overall recruit, Saniyah Hall — the future looks bright for Gottlieb and company as they look to regain their status as one of the top programs in women’s basketball.

“I think [Davidson] and I will look back at this day, when we took a butt-kicking her freshman year in the NCAA Tournament, and it will be very, very different at some point,” Gottlieb said.