Freshman Jazzy Davidson scores 24 points, powering No. 19 USC past California
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- Freshman Jazzy Davidson scored a season-best 24 points and hit a go-ahead layup with 4:05 left as No. 19 USC defeated Cal 61-57.
- The onetime Pac-12 rivals reunited at Chase Center, with USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb facing her former program she led to a Final Four.
- The Trojans dominated defensively, forcing 18 turnovers and scoring 15 points off Cal’s miscues as USC improved to 9-3.
SAN FRANCISCO — Freshman Jazzy Davidson scored a go-ahead layup with 4:05 remaining and finished with a season-best 24 points, leading the No. 19 USC women past California 61-57 on Sunday in the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic.
After Davidson’s basket, Londynn Jones hit a jumper the next time down as USC used a 6-0 burst to take control. The Trojans answered each Cal threat with a key defensive play or big basket.
Cal called time out with 43.8 seconds left and trailing 56-54, but as the Golden Bears tried to set up a play, USC’s Kennedy Smith made a steal of Sakima Walker’s bad pass.
Davidson, one of four Trojans averaging double digits in scoring, shot nine for 21 with three three-pointers. She scored 14 points by halftime as USC led 31-28 and held Cal to five three-point attempts while forcing 11 turnovers.
After Brown canceled its game with USC in the wake of an on-campus shooting, the Trojans found a willing replacement in UC Santa Cruz before going on to win, 102-63.
The Trojans scored 15 points off 18 turnovers by Cal (8-5).
Walker led the Golden Bears with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Lulu Twidale and Taylor Barnes each scored 11.
The longtime Pac-12 rivals reunited at Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors — and fans hurried down the stairs for a glimpse of injured USC star JuJu Watkins walking in with the Trojans (9-3).
The game featured fifth-year USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb against her former Cal program that she led to its first Final Four after the 2012-13 season. Gottlieb coached the Golden Bears from 2011-19.
Cal’s Gisella Maul went down hard in the closing moments of the third quarter and walked to the locker room.
After the Bears shot five for 20 from three-point range in a 78-69 loss at Stanford on Dec. 14, they were just one for 11 from deep.
The Trojans completed their nonconference schedule, which included wins over top-25 opponents North Carolina State and Washington.
Up next for USC: Trojans open Big Ten play Monday at Nebraska.
USC’s Lindsay Gottlieb, who started her coaching career as a student before leading the Trojans, said of the Brown shooting: ‘We’re the only country that lives this way.’
