Lindsay Gottlieb Sets USC Trojans Record with Washington Win

The No. 16 USC Trojans women's basketball team posted their first Big Ten win over No. 21 Washington, and freshman Jazzy Davidson finished with a career-high 22 points. What came with the Trojans win was a program milestone for USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb.

Mar 24, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb during an NCAA Tournament second round game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

The No. 16 USC Trojans women's basketball team was one of the most dominant teams in the nation last year, posting a 29-3 overall record, 17-1 in their first ever Big Ten campaign and a NCAA Final Four appearance.

This season, minus Trojan star Juju Watkins who's recovering from ACL surgery, USC is still following a successful path, thanks to coach Lindsay Gottlieb.

USC Coach Lindsay Gottlieb Fastest Coach To Reach 100 Wins

Mar 22, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb during the fourth quarter of an NCAA Tournament game against the UNC Greensboro Spartans at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

The Trojans opened up Big Ten win in winning fashion, defeating the No. 21 Washington Huskies 59-50 in USC's Big Ten home opener. The win also marked Gottlieb's 100th win as the Trojans head coach, and she becomes the fastest coach to do so in program history.

Gottlieb's time with the Trojans has brought massive success to the program since her arrival in 2021. So far with the Trojans, Gottlieb has led USC to a 100-38 record, back-to-back NCAA Elite Eight appearances in 2024 and 2025, the programs first-ever Big Ten title game and their second-ever Pac-12 title game in 2024.

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What's apparent is Gottlieb's arrival changed the pace of the women's program the minute she stepped foot into the Galen Center. Prior to her arrival, the Trojans were posting 10, 11 and 12 loss seasons. Now, Gottlieb has set a new precedent in South Central and led USC to back-to-back No. 1 seedings in the NCAA Tournament in 2024 and 2025, the first time the program has reached this milestone.

💯 wins at USC for Coach G!@CoachLindsayG is the fastest coach in program history to reach the milestone ✌️ pic.twitter.com/IohduwD3Xe

— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) December 8, 2025

She also holds a Naismith Trophy winner in Watkins, awarded to collegiate basketball's best player of the season. Watkins won the award following her historic 2024-25 season run before her suffering a torn ACL. She averaged 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game on 42.6 percent shooting.

"It has taken so many people believing in what  it looks like to be good in women's basketball. Starts with people buying in, starts with a culture change," Gottlieb said following the win over Washington. "The second year we like scraped and clawed our way to the NCAA tournament with a lot of transfers and fifth year kids who just wanted a shot to be good and that helped change our culture."

Gottlieb also paved way to the players that helped make this team what it is, starting with Watkins.

"And then all of a sudden, now you can get someone like JuJu to come here, and then once you get JuJu, Kennedy listens more and Jazzy listens more and everyone's kind of part of this place that can be really good and compete for something together," Gottlieb continued.

Trojans Battle For Win Over No. 21 Washington In Big Ten Home Opener

Nov 9, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Southern California Trojans guard Jazzy Davidson (9) dribbles the ball against the NC State Wolfpack during the third quarter of the Ally Tipoff game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

The Trojans fought till the end for their Big Ten home opener win over the top-25 Huskies, it was not pretty, but USC pulled it off and pushed past Washington in the final minute to secure the win.

USC is now 1-0 in conference play and improve to 7-2 overall. None other than freshman standout Jazzy Davidson was another consistent and powerful piece in the Trojans win. Davidson finished the night with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

The No. 1 recruit from Clackamas, Oregon, has been playing an elite level of basketball for the Trojans, averaging 16 points and seven rebounds in her first nine games in the Cardinal and Gold. Guard Kennedy Smith came up next with 12 points and four rebounds to close out the win.

Mar 29, 2025; Spokane, WA, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb looks on against the Kansas State Wildcats during the first half of a Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament basketball game at Spokane Arena. at Spokane Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images | James Snook-Imagn Images

When Davidson was asked about her career night and her first 20-point game in the books, she gave credit to her teammates that allow her to accomplish a new milestone.

"I mean, I play with a bunch of really great players that can score however many they want on any night," Davidson said after the win. "So I think it really opens things up for me and I feel like we open things up for each other in that way."

The Trojans face the No. 1 UConn Huskies in the Galen Center on Saturday, Dec. 13 for their second top-5 matchup of the season.