No. 21 USC women seek ‘change of heart, change of mind’ reset

USC’s women’s basketball players want to go into Minnesota as a changed team. The Trojans are on a two-game losing streak for the first time since the 2023-24 season, which doesn’t sit well with the high standard they’ve built.

“It’s time that we make a change,” senior guard Kara Dunn told reporters. “We need to be as hungry as we can be. And going into the next game, we have to have a change of heart, change of mind and get after it.”

No. 21 USC (10-5 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) went from its worst loss of head coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s tenure in an 80-46 defeat at the hands of UCLA inside Pauley Pavilion to a complete fourth-quarter unraveling against Oregon three days later at the Galen Center.

A road trip to Minneapolis for a Sunday afternoon game could be the change of environment needed for the Trojans to stitch up their season and save it from becoming completely unfastened.

“In terms of headspace, we have to compete,” Gottlieb said, “and we have to be disciplined to be able to do what we want to do with this team. And that’s where it should be, and we’ll get them where we need to get them.”

Gottlieb told reporters after the Oregon loss that she was displeased with the casualness that her team came out with on the other side of halftime, which led to a lack of pressure and poor shot selection.

The Trojans held a 37-21 lead after the first half, but were outscored 50-29 in the second – which included a measly eight-point offensive output in the fourth quarter. USC can’t fall into the same lapse in effort against a Minnesota team that is shooting 445.% from the field and can dominate inside.

The Golden Gophers (11-4, 2-2) scored 44 of their 79 points in the paint to beat Northwestern in their most recent game. Even in a loss to No. 9 Michigan, they put up 26 points from under the basket.

Grace Grocholski, a 5-foot-10 junior guard, leads Minnesota in scoring with 13.1 points per game and pulls down five rebounds a game while turning the ball over just 1.4 times a game.

“We want her to be a primary ball handler and shoot the ball and post up,” Minnesota head coach Dawn Plitzuweit told reporters Wednesday. “We’re continuing to try to use her in all different facets of the game to one, maximize her abilities and her efficiencies, but also to exploit opportunities when there are mismatch opportunities within the course of the game.”

Minnesota gives itself plenty of second-chance scoring opportunities with 14.5 offensive rebounds a game.

The defense is tough, as well, and the Golden Gophers are holding opponents to a conference-low 51.1 points each game.

“Now we’re at the stage where you’re not necessarily getting physically stronger at this point in the season,” Plitzuweit said. “You can’t spend a lot of extra time in practice working on those things. So the understanding piece (of defense) is really a big, big part of what we do at this point and time in the season.”

It’s unknown if USC’s 6-foot-1 sophomore guard Kennedy Smith will play against Minnesota. She did not play against Oregon due to a lower leg injury and her status remains day-to-day.

Smith plays a key role in feeding the ball to leading scorer Jazzy Davidson, who works well in space and finds ways to get open for high-percentage shots. Davidson’s shooting percentage dipped to 25% without Smith in the lineup.

It was her lowest percentage from the field since the Dec. 13 loss to UConn, in which she shot 23.1%.

If Smith doesn’t start the game, Gottlieb could opt for 5-foot-6 Malia Samuels and 5-foot-4 guard Londynn Jones – both gritty defenders despite their height – in the starting rotation.

Jones, like Dunn, has emphasized the need to make a change within the team.

“It’s gonna take a lot of leadership,” Jones said. “I think one way of leading for (Dunn and me) is leading by example. I think we can just start doing the things that’s being asked, buy into what’s being asked and try to lead in that way, but I think it also also using our voice.”

No. 21 USC (10-5 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) at Minnesota (11-4, 2-2)

When: Noon PT Sunday

Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota

TV/Radio: Big Ten Network/ESPN LA 710