Sports
USC’s Lindsay Gottlieb says struggling Trojans are ‘right there’ despite losing five of six
Her USC team might have dropped five of its last six games, more than it lost all of last season, while the road ahead could be something of an uphill climb, with four of its final 10 games against top-12 teams.
But by no means, at 11-8, is coach Lindsay Gottlieb ready to wave the white flag on USC’s season or its NCAA tournament hopes. Quite the contrary, in fact.
“There’s a ton of season left,” Gottlieb said confidently Friday, two days before USC was set to face off with No. 7 Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Trojans had just fallen short against Michigan State 74-68, the night before.
“We know we’re right there,” the coach continued. “But right there isn’t good enough. We’re not satisfied with that. But for this team, if we continue to figure the things out that are keeping us from getting over the hump, you know, then we think that we can do some damage.”
It certainly seemed that way at the start of January, when the Trojans were 10-3 and appeared to have found some sort of stride without injured superstar JuJu Watkins. But the void she’d left in USC’s lineup became particularly noticeable in the new year, as a blowout loss to UCLA, the largest defeat of Gottlieb’s tenure, left USC reeling. Sophomore wing Kennedy Smith went down with an injury after that, and USC blew a fourth-quarter lead to Oregon a few nights later. In three of their next four games — against Minnesota, Maryland and Michigan State — USC failed in some fashion to deliver down the stretch.
Yet none of those losses, Gottlieb points out, has been all that detrimental to the Trojans’ tournament resume. Not yet, at least. USC still sits at No. 25 in the NET rankings, thanks to its grueling nonconference schedule to start the season. The Trojans are 9-1 in games against Quad 2, 3 and 4 opponents, although they are 2-7 against top-tier opponents currently ranked as Quad 1.
That trend can’t hold if USC hopes to make the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive season under Gottlieb, a streak that USC’s women’s basketball program hasn’t matched since Cheryl Miller walked the sideline. But following Sunday’s matchup with Michigan, USC will have to contend with another top-10 team when Iowa comes to Galen Center.
The schedule should get easier after that, with matchups through February against Rutgers (9-10), Northwestern (8-11), Indiana (11-9) and Penn State (7-13), all of which rank in the bottom third of the conference. Yet the margin for error through that stretch, considering USC’s eight losses, is razor thin.
“Our whole mindset is only looking forward,” guard Kara Dunn said. “We have so many opportunities ahead to turn things around.”
Most of those opportunities of late have been on account of Dunn, who has been dynamic since the start of the new year. She’s averaging more than 24 points over USC’s last five.
It was precisely the role she’d envisioned when she committed to Gottlieb and USC, in search of a more free-flowing, pro-style offense. But it would take some adjusting, similar to how it took time for transfer forward Kiki Iriafen to settle into the offense last season.
“I was just trying to find where I fit,” Dunn said.
USC guard Kara Dunn has found her stride during the new year, averaging more than 24 points over their last five games.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
She found it just in time, with freshman Jazzy Davidson mired in a multi-game slump. Davidson has still been one of the best freshmen in college basketball this season, but she’s shooting only 38% from the field this season. Smith, the Trojans’ third-leading scorer, has been even streakier at 35%. Both have struggled especially from the three-point line in recent games, shooting a combined four of 26 over their last three games.
Fortunately for USC, Dunn has stepped up from deep in their absence, hitting 44% of her three-point attempts over the last four to keep the Trojans afloat on offense. Against Purdue, in USC’s only win in January, Dunn dropped a season-high 29.
“I’m really just remembering who I am and who I was previously,” Dunn said. “I’m used to scoring in high numbers.”
USC will need her contributions to continue if it hopes to make any noise come March. There’s little Gottlieb can do now about the limitations in USC’s frontcourt, which has relied all season on a four-way rotation at center. But Davidson continues to make progress in her first season, while Dunn’s emergence has helped take pressure off the Trojans’ impressive freshman.
As Gottlieb gathered her team for a meeting on Friday, she urged her players to learn from the hard lessons of the last three weeks. Now was no time to sound any alarm bells, she assured, with hopes that they stick together from here.
“The only way through a storm is not to pull off of the road,” Gottlieb said, “but to keep going through it.”
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The PGA Tour has announced that it will not be hosting an event in Hawaii during the 2027 season, ending a 56-year run of holding a tournament in The Aloha State. The change comes as the Tour and CEO Brian Rolapp have consistently teased a revamped schedule beginning next year.
The Tour was forced to cancel The Sentry at the start of the 2026 campaign due to the dying grass on the Plantation Course at Kapalua amid a local dispute with the company responsible for delivering water to the area.
An aerial view of the golf course from over the ocean prior to The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on December 31, 2023 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR) (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR)
PGA TOUR CEO ADDRESSES LIV GOLF’S UNCERTAIN FUTURE, PLAYERS POTENTIALLY RETURNING
With The Sentry being canceled, the Sony Open at Waialae Country on Oahu served as the Tour’s season opener in ‘26, which was won by Chris Gotterup. The event was in the final year of its sponsorship, although the Tour has shared that it is working toward making the event the opening event on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.
Chris Gotterup of the United States celebrates with the trophy on the 18th green after his winning round of the Sony Open in Hawaii 2026 at Waialae Country Club on January 18, 2026 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images) (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
The Tour’s removal of The Sentry and the Sony Open wipes out what has now turned into a traditional two-week stretch on the island to begin a new season.
MATT FITZPATRICK HAS PERFECT RESPONSE TO USA RYDER CUP FANS AFTER PGA TOUR VICTORY
The PGA Tour did not share further details about the 2027 schedule upon its announcement about leaving Hawaii, but with Sentry reportedly being an event title-sponsor through 2035, it will need to find a new landing spot on the calendar. The logical stop would be Torrey Pines in San Diego, which checks the West Coast and great weather boxes, but the venue is also looking for a new sponsor, as its deal with Farmers Insurance ended in 2026.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
View of the 18th hole is seen during the final round of The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on January 5, 2025 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images) (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
The Tour’s decision not to begin next season in Hawaii makes sense, as there are plenty of venues in the lower 48 states that are much easier to operate from, but the departure will have a tremendous financial impact on the state.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that The Sentry is estimated to have a $50 million annual impact on the community, while the Sony Open directly generates an estimated $100 million in revenue per year, plus another $1 million per year to Friends of Hawaii charities.
Martin Dugard is a prolific author and writer. He’s also an assistant cross-country coach at Santa Margarita after being head coach at JSerra for 15 years.
His newest book is “The Long Run,” which discusses the 1970s running boom and is a narrative history of four who sparked the marathon boom: Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Grete Waitz.
He’s going to have a book signing on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 26751 Aliso Creek Rd., Aliso Viejo.
Don’t be surprised if he tries to run from Rancho Santa Margarita to his book signing.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
For years, Stephen A. Smith’s many football blunders have been easy enough to explain away.
He’s not an NFL guy (remember when he said the three key players for a game were three guys who weren’t playing in the game?)
Stephen A. Smith falsely claimed the Warriors haven’t made the playoffs since 2022, but Golden State reached the second round in both 2023 and 2025. (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)
He’s definitely not a college football guy (remember when he called Jalen Milroe Jalen “Milroy” multiple times and then read the wrong stat line after a College Football Playoff game?).
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
ESPN forces him into those conversations because First Take has to talk football, and Smith knows that football is the most popular sport in the country and he needs to be seen as an authority (even though he isn’t).
But Monday’s latest mistake is a lot tougher to excuse, because this time Smith wasn’t talking about the NFL or college football. He was talking about the Golden State Warriors, one of the defining NBA dynasties of the last decade.
In other words, he was talking about the sport and the league that’s supposed to be his bread and butter.
JALEN BRUNSON’S SISTER BLASTS ESPN AFTER STEPHEN A SMITH KNICKS RANT: ‘UTTERLY RIDICULOUS’
While discussing whether Steve Kerr has coached his last game with Golden State, Smith confidently stated the Warriors “haven’t been back to the playoffs since that championship in 2022.”
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr looks on during a game against the Sacramento Kings. (Robert Edwards/Imagn Images)
That’s not even close to true. Not only did Golden State make the playoffs last season, but they also reached the postseason in 2023. Last year, the Warriors made the playoffs, beat the Rockets in seven games and advanced to the second round before losing to the Timberwolves. In 2023, they beat the Sacramento Kings in the first round and before losing to the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.
So, Smith wouldn’t even have been right if he said they haven’t won a playoff series since 2022. But he didn’t say that. He said they didn’t make the playoffs in any of the past four years, except they did it twice.
Yikes.
This is not an obscure piece of NBA trivia that Smith could be easily forgiven for not knowing. Perhaps he was too busy playing solitaire on his phone and just missed two of the past three NBA postseasons. That’s a tough look for the guy who fancies himself as the No. 1 NBA analyst in the country.
And it’s a terrible look for ESPN, as they keep selling Smith as one of the faces of their NBA coverage.
Stephen A. Smith made a brutal gaffe while talking Warriors playoff history
If Smith made this kind of mistake while talking about the NFL, nobody would be shocked. At this point, sports fans practically expect him to butcher football analysis. It’s almost endearing that a guy with the ego of Smith can be so consistently wrong while also delivering every “fact” with the utmost confidence. It’s part of the Stephen A. experience.
But this one hits differently because the NBA is where he’s supposed to at least know the basics. This is where Smith prides himself as being an authority figure.
Stephen A. Smith incorrectly stated the Golden State Warriors haven’t made the playoffs since their 2022 championship, despite the team reaching the postseason twice since then. (Candice Ward/Imagn Images)
And yet he couldn’t keep the recent playoff history of the Warriors straight. The team whose head coach is in the news every other week. The team that has won four championships since 2014. Arguably one of the most important franchises in the NBA over the past 15 years.
Yes, Golden State missed the playoffs in 2024 after getting bounced in the Play-In Tournament (although they won 46 games that season). And yes, it fell short again this season. But that’s a lot different from acting like Steve Kerr has spent four years wandering the basketball wilderness since winning that 2022 title.
He hasn’t. In fact, the team is 175-153 in the past four regular seasons.
STEVE KERR DOWNPLAYS WARRIORS OWNER’S EMAIL EXCHANGE THAT HINTED AT COACHING MISTAKES: ‘NOT A BIG DEAL’
The Warriors made the second round in 2023. They made the second round again in 2025.
Before burying Steve Kerr on national television, maybe Stephen A. Smith could take 10 seconds to confirm whether the Warriors were actually, you know, in the playoffs.
-
Technology10 minutes agoThe Vergecast Vergecast, 2026 edition
-
World16 minutes agoMexico pyramid shooter who took hostages and killed 1 is identified
-
Politics22 minutes agoByron Donalds cracks down on persistent border blind spot leaving US vulnerable to overstays
-
Health28 minutes agoHealthy diets spark lung cancer risk in non-smokers as pesticides loom
-
Sports34 minutes agoPGA Tour signals new era with axing of Hawaii events from schedule
-
Technology40 minutes agoAlexa+ lets you order food like a real conversation
-
Business46 minutes agoNew lawsuit alleges Uber is violating drivers’ rights. Here’s how
-
Entertainment52 minutes agoReview: Trigger warning? ‘For Want of a Horse’ gives new meaning to the term ‘animal lover’