COLUMBIA — Southern Cal women’s basketball knows what it is up against.
The No. 9 seed Trojans (18-13) will face No. 1 seed South Carolina (32-3) on March 23 in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena (8 p.m. ET). Southern Cal freshman phenom Jazzy Davidson is very aware of how “elite” the Gamecocks are.
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“They’re everything they’re advertised to be,” Davidson said March 22. “We’re really just focused on taking away the things that they do best, which is rebounding and limiting their touches.”
Dawn Staley has been South Carolina’s coach for 18 seasons and has three national championships, turning the program into a “national powerhouse,” according to Southern Cal coach Lindsay Gottlieb.
The Gamecocks beat the Trojans 69-52 in Los Angeles in November.
“South Carolina is very good in transition,” Southern Cal guard Kennedy Smith said. “They feed off their transition and rebounding, getting out quick. That’s something we have to contain going into this game. Obviously, we watched film from the last time we played them, so just making adjustments and going from there.”
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Gottlieb described her squad as a “completely different team” now but recognizes that South Carolina has evolved too.
“They’re an incredibly athletic team,” Gottlieb said. “They have dominant bigs. They like to rebound. They have an elite point guard who involves people, and then they obviously have guards who can score. They gained some more depth with (6-foot-7 January transfer Alicia) Tournebize.
“But I think the core of what they do and who they are remains the same. They’ve been through battles just like we have. They’ve now been through an SEC season, so I’m sure they’ve learned things about themselves as well.”
Gottlieb doesn’t take for granted the opportunity to play against an “iconic” coach in Staley.
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“What I admire the most is her ability to transcend just South Carolina women’s basketball,” Gottlieb said. “She’s iconic for women’s sports. She’s iconic for African American coaches. She’s iconic for female coaches.
“She’s still fighting for her own goals, right — she’s trying to win games and trying to win championships. But to do that and empower other people along the way, I think, is pretty unbelievable.”
Kamryn Jackson covers high school and college sports for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Greenville News, Anderson Independent Mail, and the USA TODAY Network. Please email her at KEJackson@gannett.com and follow her on X @KamxJack (formerly Twitter).
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Jazzy Davidson on playing South Carolina, Dawn Staley in March Madness
