The USC women’s basketball team is stuck. Stuck at 2–4 in conference play, head coach Lindsay Gottlieb won’t look for a way out. Instead, she’s taking a page from Mark Pope of Kentucky: stop talking about the problem and start fighting through it. Gottlieb knows that the only way to get through the struggle is to go straight through it. And in doing so, she finds a common ground with Pope.

After Kentucky lost to No. 12 Maryland 62-55 on Thursday, Lindsay Gottlieb talked about Pope’s philosophy in her postgame press conference. She said that the way Pope always focused on getting through tough times was similar to how she saw her own coaching.

“There’s just no other option,” Gottlieb stated. “I never felt as like seen as when Mark Pope at Kentucky had that press conference. People hung on just kind of what he said, maybe half jest, half real, but the gist of what he was saying is there’s no choice. No one wants to be in a situation where things are hard, but your only option is to figure it out and fight your way through it.”

Pope often stresses that setbacks aren’t reasons to quit but opportunities to learn and grow. Instead, he always urges his players to deep dive and respond to that adversity. To keep going no matter how brutal the challenge is.

Gottlieb’s words aren’t just empty words; they’re an assessment. The record of USC tells the story: 10 wins and 7 losses, 2 wins and 4 losses in Big Ten play. The Trojans were ahead of Maryland by eight points on Thursday. That was when the fourth quarter started. Maryland won the game at the free-throw line, while USC only scored 13 points in the last period.

This isn’t a lack of talent. There is too much pressure. The Trojans fell apart at the exact moment when execution was most important, which is why Gottlieb’s message about not avoiding problems but pushing through them hits so hard.

Kara Dunn, a senior guard, echoed this message of gradual progress in her own comments after the game. “Outside of how the fourth quarter went with crucial plays not going the way we wanted them to, the way we came out and the way that we played today was 10 times better than it had been in the past games,” Dunn acknowledged. “I told everybody that I’m really proud of it. We need to keep it up. We just need to do a little bit more.”

Dunn backed up what she said with action. The senior scored 21 points, 15 of which came in the fourth quarter. He made seven field goals, four three-pointers, five rebounds, and five assists. One player came through when it counted. The rest of USC didn’t. Gottlieb is trying to fill that gap. The Trojans will have a chance to show that their philosophy works when Purdue comes to town on Sunday.

Lindsay Gottlieb’s warning comes true as Maryland stuns USC

Maryland came to work hard, not to show off. The Terrapins, who usually score 87 points a game, decided to play a simpler game: wear down USC. It worked. This is the real test of Gottlieb’s message about fighting through tough times, and her team failed it.

USC was in charge at first. The Trojans’ defense made Maryland turn the ball over 13 times in the first half and only let the Terrapins shoot free throws twice. After one quarter, USC was ahead 20–16, and at halftime, they were ahead 28–27. But USC’s shooting was off; they only made 5 of 32 three-pointers. It all seemed fine until it wasn’t.

Everything changed in the second half. Maryland stopped shooting and started fouling USC. After the break, the Terrapins made 20 of 24 free throws, which was more than half of their second-half points. The defense of USC fell apart. Jazzy Davidson scored 12 points in the first quarter but missed all 14 of his shots after that. The Trojans weren’t able to change.

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Maryland won 62-55, not because they were great, but because they didn’t freak out when USC did. The Terrapins only let USC score 55 points. That’s not luck; that’s discipline and patience beating youth and talent.