Kara Dunn scores 21 points and USC women work hard, but lose fourth in a row
Playing in an unseeded game for the first time in the JuJu Watkins era seemed to motivate the USC women’s basketball team Thursday night.
The Troy Women haven’t played like one of the top 25 teams in the country lately, but they gave it their all despite a 62-55 loss to No. 12 Maryland that extended their losing streak to four and dropped them to 3-5 in games against ranked opponents this season.
“I thought we played hard,” Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “It doesn’t guarantee a result, but I’m going to give it our effort every day. This one hurts. We put it on the line, but we didn’t do enough to win the game.”
Kara Dunn finished with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists and fellow player Jazzy Davidson added 12 points, five assists and three steals for USC, which tied it with 2:46 left but was outscored 8-1 the rest of the game.
The Trojans fell to 10-7 overall, 2-4 in the Big Ten.
“Outside of the fourth quarter, I felt 10 times better than I did before,” Dunn said. “We just have to keep this momentum going. We’re going through some growing pains.
Addi Mack scored 12 points and Yarden Garzon added 10 for the 12th-ranked Terrapins (17-2, 5-2), including a three-pointer with 2:38 left that gave Maryland the lead for good. She leads the Big Ten by three with 55.
“We shot horribly,” Gottlieb complained after watching his team make just 19 of 67 shots and shoot a dismal five of 32 from long range. “Sometimes we were stagnant and could have looked better, but other times we had good shots, they just didn’t fall. We’re going through a tough time, but we’ll come out of this better than we are now.”
USC led by eight in the first quarter, but the Terrapins cut their deficit to one point by halftime and led 46-42 after three quarters.
“We’re without one of our key players and she’ll be back sooner rather than later,” Gottlieb added, referring to Kennedy Smith, who missed a third straight game with a leg injury suffered Jan. 3 against UCLA. “The nature of conference play is you see different styles every night.”
USC was trying to avoid its first four-game losing streak since 2021-22 when it suffered a seven-game skid in Gottlieb’s first season at the helm.
“With Kennedy out, I have to be aggressive,” Dunn added. “I’ve been in that position on other teams to do that when my number is called.”
Davidson had the hot hand early, scoring nine of her team’s first 11 points and finishing with 12 in the first quarter alone, but went 0 of 14 the rest of the night.
“I’m really proud of our toughness,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “Road wins are valuable. These were two hungry teams and we knew what their mindset would be after losing three in a row. We relied on our defense and did a good job at the free throw line.”
Maryland was 22 of 26 from the line in a game that featured 14 lead changes and 11 ties.
Sunday’s 63-62 loss at Minnesota knocked USC out of the AP poll for the first time since Watkins arrived on campus in 2023. The Trojans began their freshman year ranked 21st.
“We’re playing positions we’re not used to,” said guard Malia Samuels, who contributed five rebounds, two points and two blocks in 39 minutes. “We are still a young team. Everyone is growing.”
The Terrapins (17-2, 5-2), who triumphed in their opener at the Galen Center, continue their momentum on the West Coast Sunday at No. 3 UCLA.
