Lindsay Gottlieb Doesn't Hold Back on Jazzy Davidson's Future at USC

The USC Trojans women's basketball season ended with a 101-61 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the NCAA Tournament, giving USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb and the Trojans an 18-14 record on the season.

Gottlieb reflected on the loss after the game in what was an emotional press conference, and she stressed how valuable the experience, not only against South Carolina but also the entire season, will be for the program moving forward. The USC coach seems confident in the Trojans' ability to compete with the best teams in the country, especially with the pairing of guards Jazzy Davidson and JuJu Watkins.

Lindsay Gottlieb Optimistic for USC's Future

usc trojans womens basketball lindsay gottlieb south carolina gamecocks dawn staley jazzy davidson juju watkins — University of Southern California forward Jazzy Davidson (9) warms up before the game with University of South Carolina Monday, March 23, 2026, during the first quarter NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"You know, Jazzy (Davidson) has in particular taken on every single thing this season and grown from it, and that's gonna be part of her greatness. And this, I think she 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, and that I think that's because of how she's handled every single situation she's been in," said Gottlieb.

Davidson finished the game with 16 points, and guard Londynn Jones scored 20 points as the only Trojans to reach double figures against the Gamecocks. USC was held scoreless for the first six minutes of the first quarter, and South Carolina ultimately ran away with it.

Gottlieb was asked what she thinks needs to change for the Trojans to compete with the top teams in the tournament like they did a year ago, and the USC coach gave a candid response:

"Yeah, we had we had conversation about that in our locker room a little bit. I think this year, this season there's been four, five, six teams that have sort of been in an elite group and then there's been like seven through 35, maybe people can beat each other and they're all kind of tournament teams. Obviously, some teams are closer to seven and some teams are closer to 30. But I think that, I was really proud of the Clemson win because we've been in that mix where against good tournament teams in our conference, we've lost some and we've won some, right?" said Gottlieb.

"And then there's a gap between the the elite, and that kind of was us last year, and that's what our standard is now, and that's where we wanna be. So for us, obviously that's figuring it out from a roster construction standpoint. We know what we have coming in next year already. We know what we have returning and we're excited about that, but you also kind of figure out is there anything else we need," she continued.

"Like from whatever. Everyone now looks and says, 'Okay, how do we get to that?' And is it roster construction or is it working on improvement? When you have a lot of returning players, you have to focus on improvement? And then there's obviously you always continually working on culture and what it takes to win," said Gottlieb. "So all of the things. It's why I wouldn't trade anything from this year. I think we did a lot of really good things, and I think we a lot of learned a lot of really good lessons that will help us, will help me ultimately get us where where we we want to be."

Gottlieb didn't mention Watkins by name, but USC is adding one of the best players in the country, Watkins, to a lineup with the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year in Davidson. In addition, the Trojans have one of the best 2026 recruiting classes with three five-star forwards in Sara Okeke, Sitaya Fagan, and five-star combo guard Saniyah Hall.

Lindsay Gottlieb Opening Statement

"First off, I want to congratulate South Carolina for going to the Sweet 16. They're obviously really, really good and incredibly difficult in this environment, just a well-balanced, well-equipped team, and wish them luck as they they continue on. For us, it's a hard way to end. Obviously, wish we had competed better, but I'm also really proud of some of the things that we did this year," said Gottlieb.

"It's been hard, obviously, not being exactly at the level and standard that we've set, and at the same time, I wouldn't change anything, 'cause that's part of it, right?" the USC coach continued. "It's the journey and the growth and the learning. I told them in the locker room and there wasn't one day that I wasn't excited to come to work. There wasn't one day I wasn't excited to work with this group. And I think tonight is really a good thing for us to to understand where we need to get, where we will get, what it takes to get there."

"And at the same time not trading any of the experiences. In particular, I said this on our senior day. We had two, you know, seniors who chose to spend their last season with us and to their credit, it never felt like a one year thing," said Gottlieb. "It never felt temporary, so London and Kara will be wearing other jerseys next year, either in the W or overseas, but they will always always have a place at USC, and um, that's something that makes me feel really good. um, and I think the rest of our team will benefit, you know, from having had them and will benefit from these experiences."

Lindsay Gottlieb's Biggest Disappointment

"When it was 31-15, I felt we felt like we had won a couple possessions in a row. I think as Jazzy kind of said, it started out and it was the rebounding. I think they didn't score on their first shot attempt for several possessions early on, but they were scoring off second chance points. and so I thought we stabilized the rebounding thing for a minute and then we turned it over or just in bunches and bunches."

"So, I want to say that it was 31-15 and then they went on like a 16-0 run, and I think it was turnovers. I mean, you can't compete that way, you know, they're physically kind of superior, just in terms of size, and so you got to box out, and then once we kind of like you said, absorb that blow, then we threw it to them in a number of times. Again, credit their pressure, they're really good. It's not like we were doing it to ourselves," she said.

"They were making a concerted effort, I think, to just deny Jazzy as much as possible, heat up other areas, sag off certain areas to, you know, to kind of take away the gaps on the floor, and yeah, they were just better at it than we were at handling it," said Gottlieb."

"I was disappointed at halftime. You know, you can you can lose and you can not necessarily be as good as a team, but I thought we were conceding so that you don't need to throw the ball to the other team. We had some careless things that I wasn't pleased with and just wanted to see a different competitive level in the second half, and I thought we tried to do that in times. Obviously, I thought we were obviously trying to put up a fight, but we weren't good enough, and that's a good lesson for us as well."

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