Trojans prepare for postseason play

Although this is only Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s second year at USC, she has completely turned around the women’s basketball program, as the Trojans now sit at 21-8 overall and 11-7 in the Pac-12. She has led the Trojans to their best record through 29 games since the 1993-94 season, when the Trojans were 26-3. Her philosophy relies heavily on senior leadership, which emerges primarily through graduate guard Destiny Littleton, graduate forward Kadi Sissoko and graduate guard Rokia Doumbia. Gottlieb spoke with the Daily Trojan about what it took for this transformation to happen so quickly.

“Just for all of us to buy in and try and change the culture, start a new legacy,” Gottlieb said. “There’s such a rich history here that we value and it gives me motivation every day.”

Last year, the Trojans ended their season in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament in a 73-60 loss to rivals UCLA, a game that marked their 16th loss of the year. After the season concluded, the Trojans lost a significant percentage of their scoring as forwards Jordyn Jenkins and Jordan Sanders moved on from the program. Jenkins and Sanders led the team in scoring, with 14.8 and 12.4 points per game, respectively. 

Over recent years, NCAA basketball has succumbed to the creation of the transfer portal, which allows players to transfer from school to school without losing eligibility. While many people believe that the transfer portal is affecting the integrity of the game, Gottlieb took advantage of the transfer portal by bringing in a whopping six transfers: Littleton, Sissoko and Doumbia, as well as graduate guard Okako Adika, redshirt freshman guard Taylor Bigby, junior guard Kayla Williams and junior forward Koi Love. 

“I was excited about [bringing in so many transfers],” Gottlieb said. “It was a [new] group of people that were all talented but we had to come together. It’s been really incredibly fun. Hard, different, but I’m really grateful to this group that we have.”

Along with the retention of sophomore forward Rayah Marshall, who is third in the nation in blocks per game, the Trojans roster was stacked heading into what would be an outstanding regular season. Throughout the season, the Trojans racked up wins against heavyweight schools, most notably their major upset against then-ranked No. 2 Stanford at home and their domination of then-ranked No. 25 Colorado on the road. 

These wins were not the team’s only highlights of the year. Throughout the program’s transformation, USC’s defensive presence has allowed them to succeed in a highly competitive Pac-12 conference. During their upset over Stanford, the Trojans held the Cardinal to a season-low 46 points. Additionally, the Trojans have forced all of their opponents into 10 or more turnovers, except for during their matchup against UCLA in mid-December. 

Marshall’s paint presence has been huge for the Trojans, as she now sits at 89 blocks on the year and has now recorded at least one block in 49 consecutive games. On the offensive end, the Trojans are led by Littleton and Sissoko, who are averaging 15.6 and 13.9 points per game this season, respectively. Doumbia spoke about what it meant to have such strong senior leadership on the team this season.

“This is our last year and we are trying to take this program to the next level with [Gottlieb’s] help,” Doumbia said. “You have these seniors who are like ‘Okay, this is our last year, and we are going to do this. We are going to do this for each other, we are going to do this for our coaches, and we are going to do this for our fans.” 

After a 19-point comeback in their double-overtime victory Saturday afternoon against Washington State, the Trojans have proven that they have the ability to face adversity which will be crucial when the Pac-12 tournament begins Wednesday. This season, the Pac-12 features a total of five ranked teams, making for an exciting and competitive conference tournament, in which USC holds the sixth seed. They will play Oregon State, who they beat in both of their matchups earlier this year, on Wednesday in the first round. 

“To me, as we go into the Pac-12 tournament … everyone has played each other a million times, everyone knows each other’s stuff,” Gottlieb said. “It’s going to be about who is the most connected when they play, who can make adjustments, who can find another gear.” 

The Trojans will play Oregon State Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.