LOS ANGELES -- With the skid that the USC Women of Troy had been enduring in their last seven games, only managing one win during that stretch, a game against the No.
LOS ANGELES -- With the skid that the USC Women of Troy had been enduring in their last seven games, only managing one win during that stretch, a game against the No.8 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes would seem not an ideal matchup for a restart, with the benefit of being at home, but a fiery shooting performance from the Trojans proved to be too much as the Women of Troy beat the Hawkeyes quite convincily, 81-69.
With Thursday night's win, the Women of Troy not only handed Iowa their first loss in conference play of the season, but also claimed a victory over the Hawkeyes for the first time since 1984.
"I think right now, this was really needed," USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said.
Gottlieb further explains in the postgame presser that with every loss and win, lessons are curated right then and there, with most being about confidence or humility moving forward.
It took the first half for USC to awaken the offense as both Jazzy Davidson and Kara Dunn proved to be early igniters with Davidson's 13 points on 5-11 shooting and Dunn's team-leading 16 points on 4-7 shooting.
By the end of regulation, Dunn lead the team with a 25-point performance, while Davidson followed suit with 21 points. Along with her 25-point performance, Dunn had also passed the 1500 point mark for the season.
The second half would commence, and the Women of Troy were off to the races.
In the third quarter alone, USC shot an eye popping 65% from the field, led by Kennedy Smith's 8 points on 4-5 shooting, and outscored Iowa 27-14.
"I am here for everything Kennedy Smith brings," coach Gottlieb said. "I thought Kennedy's second half response was important for us."
The Women of Troy would go on a 13-0 run and enter the final quarter of regulation, 70-51.
USC would not display the same amount of offensive output showcased in the third quarter into the fourth, only managing to score 11 points the entire quarter, but the overflow from the start of the second half was just enough to hold the Hawkeyes at bay.
The Women of Troy earned a few days off before their nect matchup at home against the Rutger Scarlet Knights.
Category: General Sports
