USC women ‘locked in’ on strong Big Ten finish ...Middle East

A group photo of the USC women’s basketball team appeared on the Trojans’ official social media channels on Tuesday afternoon.

Not a candid shot of in-game or locker room celebrations – an official team photo with two lines of players, smiling school-picture style with hands behind their backs or on their knees. Everyone is in matching warmups and shoes.

It seems as though the team has finally arrived as a complete unit, and with a four-game winning streak to its name.

“I’m really proud of our growth, the way we came out,” Lindsay Gottlieb told reporters after beating Illinois on Sunday. “I think our team’s been locked in and we’ve shown an ability to continue to get better.”

USC (15-9 overall, 7-6 Big Ten) struggled to find its identity in the first half of the season without the talent of the injured JuJu Watkins, who had vaulted them to success in previous years.

At one point in January, USC had lost six out of seven straight games. Now, players are finding their roles and settling into them, which has led to four straight Big Ten wins over then-No. 8 Iowa, Rutgers, Northwestern and Illinois.

The Trojans are holding steady at No. 20 in the NET rankings and are currently predicted to be a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to projections released by the NCAA on Tuesday.

There are five games left on the Big Ten schedule, starting with Thursday at Galen Center against an Indiana team that is desperate for wins as the early March Big Ten Tournament nears.

The Hoosiers (14-11, 3-10) are on a three-game run of their own, having beated Northwestern, Wisconsin and Purdue.

“We’re playing for something, and so that should be enough motivation,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said after beating Wisconsin. “Coming on the road in the ‘Big’ is a tough task for everybody. I hope that it does give our kids some confidence. But we’ve got to continue to learn and we’ve got to continue to grow, and once we have a lead, learn how to hang on to a lead.”

Guard Shay Ciezki is the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 24.1 points per game on 54.4% shooting. The 5-foot-7 senior is one of five Hoosiers shooting 36.5% or better from long range.

Collectively, Indiana is shooting a conference-best 38.2% from beyond the arc.

USC’s defense could match up well against Indiana’s offense, given that the Trojans have risen to the top of the conference stat sheet in blocks and are currently averaging six a game.

Kennedy Smith, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, had a career-high six blocks in USC’s 70-62 win at Illinois on Sunday.

“Definitely just taking pride in my defense,” Smith told reporters after the game. “I was guarding Berry (Wallace) most of the game, but she was really attacking. So I was just getting my hands up and timing most of her drives and just having my hands active, really.”

Smith and freshman guard Jazzy Davidson each had career-high scoring nights in the game as well, with the former reaching 20 points and the latter hitting 27 points. It was Davidson’s 21st consecutive game scoring in double figures.

INDIANA (14-11 overall, 3-10 Big Ten) at USC (15-9, 7-6)

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

Where: Galen Center

TV/Radio: Big Ten Network/USCTrojans.com/Listen

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