Jazzy Davidson has strong debut as USC women rout New Mexico State
- Share via
Freshman USC guard Jazzy Davidson felt some nerves early in her collegiate debut Tuesday night. She lost the ball a couple of times before missing her first shot — a three-pointer that bounced off the rim. Then she got called for a travel, then she missed another three and another jumper right before the first-quarter buzzer.
The whole time, her teammates and coaches were in her ear:
Slow down. Stay in the moment.
Then in the second quarter, junior forward Gerda Raulusaityte grabbed a rebound and found the freshman breaking in transition. Davidson, who was the No. 1 high school recruit in the nation, took it to the rim and laid the ball in over a defender for the first bucket of her college career.
“It felt great,” she said. “It was a little rough at first, but like I said, just my coaches and my teammates, they’re always supporting me and have my back.”
Safe to say she got over her nerves. Davidson meshed seamlessly into the flow of the game from then on, finishing with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal in USC’s 87-48 season-opening walloping of New Mexico State. Three other Trojans scored in double figures, led by UCLA transfer Londynn Jones with 16 points. Kara Dunn scored 12 points to go with eight rebounds, while Kennedy Smith added 11 points.
USC remains focused on competing for a national title, but it does so without the pressure of lofty expectations tied to injured star JuJu Watkins.
“It was about catching her rhythm,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “Like our other playmakers, they’re dynamic, right? So when shots go in, that’s great, but that’s not the only way they can impact the game.”
Case in point — with two minutes left before halftime and guarding at the wing, Davidson poked the ball loose from New Mexico State’s DeAvion Wilson. She took control of the ball as it went toward the sideline, managed to stay in bounds and took it coast to coast, drawing a foul as she went up for the layup and hitting both free throws.
Davidson’s best sequence of the night, though, came in the third quarter.
She came off a screen, dribbled down to the baseline, spun between two defenders and hit a soft jumper from the wing. She did it again on the next possession, this time coming down from the top of the key, pirouetting into the paint and dropping in the easy two-footer.
Later in the quarter, the Aggies double-teamed Davidson at the elbow. As she fought to keep possession of the ball, she found Dunn wide open in the corner and heaved it to her. Dunn let the three fly and swished it in to push the Trojans lead to 30 points.
This wasn’t even Davidson at her best, considering she went 0 for 7 from three-point range. Not only was it just her first game at the college level, but she’s still getting acclimated back into things after missing a chunk of practices because of illness.
Gottlieb knows there’s still another gear to be unlocked.
“It’s a process,” Gottlieb said. “And we have total confidence in the way that she can impact winning, and we know shots will fall.”
It’s hard not to think ahead and picture how bright the future can be for USC with Davidson, a former McDonald’s All-American and FIBA U19 World Cup gold medalist this past summer, and JuJu Watkins — who received her 2025 John R. Wooden Award on the court at Galen Center in a pregame ceremony and cheered on her teammates from the sideline for all 40 minutes — playing together next season.
But there’s still a whole season that lies ahead for the Trojans. If nothing else, Tuesday was a promising start for Davidson.
“It means a lot,” Davidson said. “It’s like I said, it’s super exciting playing my first college game. So, yeah, I’m just really grateful for the opportunity.”
