A lot has changed since Notre Dame beat USC women’s basketball at Galen Center last November. Both the Trojans and the Fighting Irish had key players depart the program (Kiki Iriafen, Olivia Miles, Rayah Marshall, Avery Howell, Kayleigh Heckel, Kate Koval) and USC is also of course dealing with the absence of superstar guard JuJu Watkins.
But there’s certainly no love lost between the programs. Hannah Hidalgo will look to terrorize the Trojans once again, while Kennedy Smith will look to make her presence felt after missing last season’s game.
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Both teams need this win badly after suffering a recent ranked loss: USC fell to South Carolina while Notre Dame was blown out my Michigan. But which team will better impose its will?
Follow along with all the live updates, analysis, highlights and stats from Trojans Wire writer Ethan Inman as USC takes on No. 24 Notre Dame with both teams looking to establish a new identity:
Davidson and Samuels leading the way
USC 33, Notre Dame 31 — end of 1st half
USC is leading because the Trojans have more scoring depth than the Irish. Jazzy Davidson has 9 points and Malia Samuels are leading the way with 9 points. USC is also shooting 4-of-9 from three led by Samuels who is 2-3 from beyond the arc.
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The Trojans are leading by only 2 points because they are bad at taking care of the basketball. They have a whopping 11 first half turnovers. Hannah Hidalgo is being a pest and making it tough as expected, but USC has also made several careless passes.
Vanessa de Jesus is keeping Notre Dame in this one with a great game offensively. The Irish are shooting 35% as a team, but de Jesus has 11 points on 4-6 shooting and 3-5 from three.
Another thing to watch: only 6 combined free throws for these two teams in the first half, 4 for Notre Dame and 2 for USC. It hasn’t been an overly physical game, especially down low, but the officiating is also letting a lot go.
USC 21, Notre Dame 18 — 7:06 2nd quarter
USC has been the better team in transition in the second quarter. They look fast and decisive when they get out on the run. They are also getting scoring from up and down the roster: Malia Samuels leads the Trojans with 6 points, Kara Dunn has 5 and Dayana Mendes and Jazzy Davidson have 4.
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USC is up to 50% shooting from the field, and the Trojans are holding Notre Dame to 33% shooting.
Jazzy in her bag
USC 14, Notre Dame 15 — end of 1st quarter
Dayana Mendes hit a long 2 pointer and Jazzy Davidson hit a nice contested layup in the closing minutes of the first quarter.
USC is trailing because the Trojans are turning the ball over far too much. Hidalgo and the Irish are taking full advantage of the fact that the Trojans don’t have great ball handling skills.
USC is shooting the ball decently well…when the Trojans can get up a shot.
USC 10, Notre Dame 15 — 1:28 1st quarter
Welp, Hannah Hidalgo is up to her old tricks. She has been an absolute menace in the passing lane and has 3 steals already. She is up to 8 points.
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USC had 5 turnovers in the last 2 minutes.
USC 10, Notre Dame 6 — 3:47 1st quarter
Malia Samuels has 4 early points for USC, and the offensive system looks much better overall than it did against South Carolina.
USC has done a good job of limiting Hannah Hidalgo and Cassandre Prosper so far. USC does have 2 early turnovers and the Trojans are being out rebounded 7-5.
Yakiya Milton was the first post player off the bench for USC fresh off her 12 rebound performance. So Lindsay Gottlieb has really shaken up the post rotation for this game.
Iwuchukwu back in the starting lineup
Vivian Iwuchuku is back in the starting five for USC, replacing Gerda Raulušaityte who started the last three games. The rest of the starting lineup is the same as its been all season: Kennedy Smith, Jazzy Davidson, Kara Dunn and Malia Samuels.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC women’s basketball vs Notre Dame live updates, stats, analysis
