JuJu Watkins entered the Spectrum Center with her team. But this time around, she had a different role to play. And she made sure to do it 100%. She screamed, clapped, shouted, and dished out high fives. She did everything in her power to hype up her teammates so they could propel the Trojans without her. 

And, well, the rest of the roster tried its best. As head coach Lindsay Gottlieb put it in the post-game press conference, “I mean, you know, our starting frontcourt is in the W. And as you all know, right? JuJu’s with us from the sideline this year. So everybody’s sort of in a new role, and we just think it’s a great opportunity for us.”

With Watkins sidelined for the season after surgery to repair a torn ACL, USC has a massive void to fill. And that’s not easy – especially since Juju led the Trojans in scoring, assists, steals, and even minutes played. But what makes it all tougher is that JuJu isn’t the only player missing. The Trojans got only one returning player, Kennedy Smith, from last season, who logged multiple games. While Kiki Iriafen and Rayah Marshall went to W, Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel were transferred whereas Talia von Oelhoffen exhausted her eligibility.

So that’s where USC found itself in Charlotte; still, the team didn’t back down. “It’s just the way we want to play. We want to play fast and fluid. You know, we’re trying to play with a more open, pro-style offense where there are a lot of reads and options, and we’re putting people in different spots. We’re always going to play hard and tenaciously on the defensive end. We want to play fast – I mean, all the different things,” the head coach added.

And “play hard”, they did. Lindsay unveiled ten of her players on the court out of the 12 available. That’s because the struggles on the court were pretty clear. The Wolfpack jumped out to an 8–2 lead, hitting shots inside and out early. But the Trojans didn’t back down. When NC State went cold, USC tied it up at 8–8. From there, the game went back and forth until the Wolfpack closed the first quarter up 20–18.

And, with the beginning of the second quarter, USC came out hot again. They went on a 5–0 run to regain the lead, pushing it to four points before NC State answered with a 6–0 spurt of their own. As the neck-to-neck game continued, it all came down to the final moments. It was when USC scored the game-winning basket off an inbounds play, and the Wolfpack couldn’t respond on the other end. As a result, the Trojans escaped with a one-point win. 

“And I think that’s what the players have bought into – and they have. But there are also different people in new roles and opportunities. And that’s a lot, you know, to take on – from someone in their first college game to someone in their first time in a USC uniform – being asked to take on a lot more, which is a great, awesome opportunity. I love coaching us. But I think we’ve got a lot of growing to do as well – which is exciting,” the head coach added.

Growth is surely on the way, but there’s work to do. That’s because the opponent outrebounded the Trojans 54–40 and held the edge in both fast breaks (11–19) and points in the paint (38–36). But no worries, as Trojans have a silver lining!

What’s worked for the Trojans without key players?

When the Trojans struggled, there was one voice constantly echoing from the bench. “I just kept saying, ‘We can do this,’ and I felt like they believed that. We have a lot of different shot-makers and playmakers. We have some defensive stoppers. We can put people in different spots, and we tried to do that all game,” the head coach shared.

And this time, the blessing in disguise was freshman Jazzy Davidson. She put USC on her back and led the charge. Her most defining moment came at the end when the Trojans trailed by one. She cut hard to the basket, got ahead of her defender, caught Kennedy Smith’s inbounds pass in stride, and sank the layup – her first collegiate game-winner. But that’s not it. She even had an impressive 21 points, 18 of which came in the second half when the game was tightest. 

But she wasn’t alone. Helping her was Londynn Jones, who came off the bench and scored 19 points. Together, the two combined for 40 of USC’s 69 total points in the win. So yes, the Trojans still have stars driving the team – proving you can’t count them out just yet. But the question remains: Is it enough?