The Trojans have broken through the Big Ten title UCLA. “Your greatest hope is to see your players celebrate,” said senior manager Lindsey Gottlieb.
USC ended the regular season at the van on March 1, with the Associated Press awarded the Trojan horse after years of mediocre.
In the 1980s, USC dominated the women’s college basketball scene with national titles in 1983 and 1984, but lost the national championship game in 1986. USC won more than 21 matches each year from 1981 to 1988, and appeared in regional semi-finals in the NCAA Tournament.
Previously, Gottlieb, an assistant coach for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers from 2019 to 2021, came to USC during the seven-year NCAA Tournament drought. The Trojans have only cracked 20 wins three times in the season since the 2010-2011 season. USC went from 11 to 12 a year before Gottlieb arrived. This is the second season in five years that I lost.
Gottlieb didn’t make the Trojans anytime soon as the team went from 12-16 in their first year, 2021 to 2022. In his second year, the Trojans went 21-10, falling over the top 25 to create the NCAA Tournament as the number 8 seed, but resigned in the first round. This was USC’s first top 25 ranking since the 2015-2016 season.
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Things continued to build up in their third year as Gottlieb coached the Trojans in the 29-6 mark, another top 25 ranking, and the final appearance of the NCAA region.
USC was ranked third that year and took fifth in the final vote. The Trojans came in second in the Pac-12 regular season standings and won the conference tournament.
This season, the program was the first time in the Big Ten, and the Trojans have risen to new levels. USC had the highest record since 1983-1984, and was able to surpass the 31-1983 national championship team from 1982-1983, losing only two games. This is the only thing the Trojans have been lost only twice in a season since the program began in 1981.
USC is currently hitting a seven-game winning streak from 76-69 losses on February 2nd in Iowa on the day the Hawkeyes retired from Kate Linklark’s jersey. Other defeats of the Trojans came against the defeats of the time. 6 Notre Dame on June 23rd, a 74-61 retreat.
Trojan sophomore guard Juju Watkins leads his team with 24.4 points per game, averaging 6.7 and 3.6 assists per contest. Senior forward Kiki Iliafen was also a key part of the Trojan success with 18.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
“I’m a very lucky coach to have these two,” Gottlieb told reporters about Watkins and Iliafen. “They are the best duo in the country.”
Freshman Guard Kennedysmith is solid with 10 points and 4 rebounds per contest, while senior Ray Marshall is a force with 7.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks posts per game.
USC will play again in the Indianapolis quarterfinals at Friday’s Big Ten Tournament. The Trojans face the winner of Thursday’s match between Indiana (18–11) and Oregon (19–10).
“I’m really proud to be the Big Ten regular season champion, and I think that’s a true test of consistency and excellence,” Gottlieb said.
USC is no. I’m aiming to get more with the ranking of 2.
