With a comfortable win in hand as South Carolina dribbled out the clock, the sizable pro-Gamecocks share of the crowd in attendance at Crypto.com Arena broke into a deafening chant.
“USC! USC! USC!”
The final buzzer sounded. The Gamecocks planted their flag in Los Angeles and stuck their claim on the oft-debated acronym in the inaugural “The Real SC Game.”
“I would say we got the title until we play them again next year,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “Until [Nov. 15] again in Greenville, we’re gonna wear that title with pride. So we are, yes, the real USC.”
No. 8 USC didn’t make it easy on South Carolina. The Trojans forced turnovers and made their free throws, but it wasn’t enough as South Carolina pulled away with a 69-52 win.
“Fifty-two points is not going to win us a lot of games,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “We’d like to, if we had to win a rock fight, win 52-51, but I know that we’re capable of scoring against any team. We wouldn’t know that if we’re blowing somebody out by 40, right?
“So I’d rather get it handed to us tonight even if it doesn’t feel good, and understand what we’re capable of doing and getting there eventually.”
South Carolina guard Ta’Niya Latson drove into the paint in the third quarter. As she went up for the layup, she was met by USC guard Kennedy Smith, who rose up and swatted the ball so hard into the stands that it knocked the hat off a fan sitting a couple rows deep in the Crypto.com Arena crowd.
That ended up being the highlight of the Trojans’ second half.
USC guard Jazzy Davidson loses the ball while driving to the basket against South Carolina on Saturday night.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
They had been in this situation before. In its previous game at No. 9 North Carolina State, USC trailed by 11 with 9:48 left to play before pulling off a comeback victory. And on Saturday night, the Trojans found themselves here again: down 10 to South Carolina, the No. 2 team in the country, heading into the final quarter.
But USC’s shortcomings — and its abysmal night shooting the ball (33% from the floor, 7% from deep) — were too much to overcome. The Gamecocks bullied their way inside to drop 44 points in the paint on the Trojans.
Smith led USC in scoring with 12 points to go with three assists. Kara Dunn was the only other Trojan in double figures with 10 points and three rebounds. South Carolina had four players in double figures, led by Joyce Edwards’ 17 points. South Carolina held USC freshman star Jazzy Davidson to eight points on four-for-11 shooting.
“They do have a lot of length, especially in the interior,” Gottlieb said. “We talked about the fact that when they collapse, the sprays might be out to shooters. We had a rough time shooting the ball, which obviously let it stay collapsed more and more.”
The Gamecocks (4-0) came out sloppy with six first-half turnovers and shooting just 33% from the floor, but the Trojans (2-1) couldn’t capitalize. Their shooting percentage (36%) was almost as bad through the first two quarters and they were outrebounded 27-20 as South Carolina scored nine second-chance points on nine offensive boards.
USC guard Malia Samuels, center, is fouled by South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards (8) in the second half Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The cracks started to show in the second half, when South Carolina opened with a 10-2 run to give USC a double-digit deficit. The Gamecocks outscored the Trojans 23-15 in the third.
South Carolina built on every advantage it had from the first half. The Gamecocks’ rebounding advantage ballooned from seven to 24. They went from nine offensive rebounds to 21, and while they still finished the game with 17 turnovers, they forced with 16 points off USC’s 13 turnovers balanced it out.
“I think it’s easier to figure out how to get really good when we’re challenged,” Gottlieb said. “We learned a lot of things about ourselves against NC State. I think we’ll learn hopefully equally, if not more, tonight about what we can be really good at. What we need to get a lot better at. But it is a process.”
Gottlieb noted the Trojans’ newcomers are still adapting to new roles early in the season. Even though USC lost, Saturday represented a key learning opportunity.
“I saw some things from our team I really liked,” Gottlieb said. “I thought we had some fight, some things to build on. Obviously we’re not yet where we need to be, but I think this game will really help us get there in an expedited fashion.
“Excited about what’s next for us, but disappointed with the fact that we couldn’t hold on and be a little bit more competitive down the stretch tonight.”