LOS ANGELES — Coming off the heels of a 34-point loss to crosstown rival UCLA, the USC Women of Troy looked to etch a positive note in their first game back at the Galen Center in 2026 against the Oregon Ducks Tuesday night, but had, arguably, suffered an even greater loss. A contest that was surely in their hands from the jump, slipped away in a matter of minutes as the Ducks rallied back down by 16 points at the half and conjured up a 14-0 run to end the game, coming away with the 71-66 comeback win.
Following the stunning turn of events for USC, Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb gave credit where it was due to Oregon.
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“Credit to Oregon. They were poised. I’m not surprised they hung in there when they were down… about as upsetting a loss as we’ve had in this building. We have a lot of potential to be really good, but not if we don’t figure some things out,” coach Gottlieb said.
Before tip-off, USC had announced that defensive guru Kennedy Smith would be out Tuesday with a lower leg injury and listed as day-to-day. The absence of Smith was not felt until later down the stretch for the Women of Troy.
USC got off to a slow start offensively to begin the contest, mirroring their style of play at the Pauley Pavilion last Saturday, unable to score within the first four minutes of the game. The tides soothed for the Trojans as they would conclude the first quarter on an impressive 16-0 run, led by Kara Dunn’s team-high 12 first-quarter points, and take a 23-9 lead to the second quarter.
The offensive production continued for the Women of Troy heading into the half, as Jazzy Davidson began her impressive performance on the floor, and by the end of regulation, notched the third double-double of her collegiate career with a final stat line of 14 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and two steals. Kara Dunn would lead the team with 21 points, but was more focused on the team’s headspace and how they could improve on it moving forward, especially after back-to-back demoralizing losses.
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“I think it’s time that we make a change,” Dunn said. “Coming off a loss like that, we need to be as hungry as we can be, and going into the next game, we have to have a change of heart.”
Coach Gottlieb then voiced her view on the current status of her team’s headspace and gave a clear reality check on what she saw shift from her team’s first-half performance play, compared to the second half, which echoed through the media room in a frenzy.
“I thought we came out in the second half like we have arrived,” coach Gottlieb said. “That’s why I called such a quick timeout in the third quarter because I did not like our demeanor. I did not like how it felt. I felt we weren’t pressuring them as much.”
The headspace has to change for the Women of Troy as they gave up 50 second-half points to the Ducks, including the 14-0 run that Oregon would eventually go on in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter that inevitably decided the Trojans’ fate.
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With back-to-back losses like this, it would be hard to find the big red reset button needed as the new year gets going, but the Women of Troy have a few days to clear their head of their worst losses of the season before traveling to Minnesota on Sunday.
