Kara Dunn bent down and put her hands on her knees. Her eyes were focused on nothing in particular. Moments earlier, the USC women’s basketball guard had sunk a buzzer-beating 3-point shot in Minnesota’s Williams Arena.
It wasn’t enough. The Trojans still lost 63-62 and created their first three-game losing streak since the 2021-22 season.
Dunn made her intentions as part of the USC women’s basketball team clear back in November:
“I want to be there for my team, be on the court and present,” she told reporters. “And get everything I need to get done on the court.”
After USC’s losses to Minnesota, Oregon and UCLA, snapping their skid won’t be easy, especially with No. 12 Maryland (16-2, 4-2) coming to the Galen Center on Thursday. They’ll need to build off Dunn’s experience and freshman Jazzy Davidson’s talent to start winning again.
Kennedy Smith missed her second straight game in Minnesota due to a lower leg injury, and USC (10-6 overall, 2-3 Big Ten) did not respond to a request for comment regarding her status Wednesday.
Dunn took over the game against the Golden Gophers in her absence, scoring from multiple levels while also taking the time to find open teammates. She battled through contact and was a pesky defender in one-on-one situations.
Her efforts produced a season-high 27 points and earned her her own highlight reel on the Big Ten YouTube page. It’s a promise Dunn made after the loss to Oregon coming to fruition.
“Coming off a loss at UCLA, like Coach Lindsay (Gottlieb) was telling us in the locker room – at the start of the game, we were a little bit hungry,” Dunn told reporters. “But then we immediately sat back and were casual in the second half, which you can’t be, especially coming off a loss like that.”
The Trojans will be looking for improved shooting all around. Davidson shot 50% against Minnesota, but starting guards Londynn Jones and Gerda Raulušaityte were 2 for 8 and 0 for 2, respectively.
Maryland is approaching Thursday’s game with an aggressive mindset. No. 14 Ohio State handed the Terrapins their first home loss of the season Sunday – the same day USC lost to Minnesota.
The Terrapins started with a dominant first quarter against Ohio State but were outscored in the final three frames to lose 89-76.
“We have to be tough the whole game,” Maryland 6-foot-3 senior guard Darden Garzon told reporters. “We can’t start out strong and just let down after. We have to be more consistent throughout the game. We have great players. We have depth on our team, but we need everybody to show up.”
The turnover battle will be one to watch Thursday. Maryland turned the ball over 17 times against Ohio State and is giving up the ball an average of 16.1 times a game. USC is one of the better teams in the Big Ten at taking care of the ball and averages just less than 14 turnovers.
Maryland 5-foot-10 guard Oluchi Okananwa reached 1,000 career points in the Ohio State game and is leading the team with 17.4 points per game while shooting 49.2% from the field. Garzon is next at 13.4 points a game, and it’s likely the Terrapins will go to her in times of offensive need.
Two of Garzon’s best games this season were in Maryland’s losses to Ohio State and Illinois. She neared season-highs in scoring with 19 points against the Buckeyes and 17 points against the Illini and played 40 minutes in both games.
“I think it’s just staying confident with my shot, and my teammates and coaches do a great job of believing in me and giving me this confidence,” Garzon said. “But I feel like at the end of the day, you either win or lose. That’s the most important thing. Not who scored what or who shoots how much. Just get together and focus on that.”
No. 12 Maryland (16-2 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) at USC (10-6, 2-3)
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Galen Center
TV/Radio: Peacock/USCTrojans.com/Listen
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