LOS ANGELES, CA — The cold air was not only outside of Crypto.com Arena, the site of the Real SC Game between the USC Trojans and the South Carolina Gamecocks, but it was also on the court as the Women of Troy were shooting icecubes in terms of field goal percentage as the Trojans suffer first loss in the season by a final score of 69-52.
It was evident in the first half that this matchup between these two top-10 Women’s programs was set to be a back-and-forth dog fight. It was the Gamecocks that set the tone early at Crypto with scoring by senior guard Raven Johnson, who ended the first quarter with 8 points, and SC held an 18-8 lead at one point in the first. The Women of Troy were picking up the pace as the final minutes of the first quarter wound down, and by quarter’s end, the Trojans were only down by 4.
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The second quarter was a low-scoring quarter by the Trojans’ standards, but with every shot they made, the Gamecocks responded right back.
Kara Dunn led in scoring for the Women of Troy with 7 points on 3-6 shooting, and would finish her night with 10 points. Kennedy Smith was the leading scorer for the Trojans with 12 points and 4 assists.
“We want these types of games to teach us where we want to be and where we need to get to,” USC Women’s Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb said in her opening statement to the media after the loss.
Once the second half commenced, it was all South Carolina.
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The Gamecocks were taking advantage of their production on the transition, and the Trojans’ unable to knock down any shots. By the end of the second half, the Women of Troy had a 29% field goal percentage (9-31), and 0-8 from the deep range.
Joyce Edwards recorded a triple-double for the Gamecocks, leading in scoring with 17 points on 4-11 shooting, with 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Madina Okot was dominating on the boards as she snagged 15 of them, along with 6 points to her credit.
Another notable dominant stat by the Gamecocks is that they finished the game with an astonishing 56 team rebounds.
The Women of Troy will have some time to recoup from the tough loss, as their next game is scheduled for next Tuesday against Portland at the Galen Center.
