Southern Cal WBB ousts Clemson from March Madness. Battle with Gamecocks next
It will be USC vs. USC Part II, this time in March Madness.
Southern Cal freshman Jazzy Davidson scored 31 points as the Trojan defeated Clemson, 71-67, in an NCAA Tournament overtime thriller Saturday at Colonial Life Arena.
The ninth-seeded Trojans (18-13) advance to Monday’s second round game (8 p.m., ESPN) against host and top-seeded South Carolina. The Gamecocks were winners over Southern earlier in the day.
South Carolina women’s basketball defeated the Trojans 69-52 in Los Angeles back in November.
“It’s exciting. They’re a great team. They’re super well coached. To be able to get another shot at them and see where we stack up again way later on in the season, it’s going to be a good game,” Davidson said.
Clemson appeared to win the game in regulation when guard Mia Moore hit a running 3-pointer as time expired. After a lengthy review, officials said Moore didn’t get the shot off in time and that the clock didn’t start on the inbounds play. One referee signaled a foul on the shot, but officials rules that foul also occurred after the buzzer sounded. The game went to overtime tied at 61.
“As they timed it, the whistle was not blown before what they said was zeroes on the stopwatch. That is how they explained it to me,” Clemson coach Shawn Poppie said.
Jazzy Davidson shines
The Southern Cal highly-touted freshman didn’t disappoint in her NCAA Tournament debut.
The Big Ten Freshman of the Year had her hand in just about everything for the Trojans and played all 45 minutes in the game. She finished with 31 points, six rebounds and five assists and came up with key steals in overtime.
Davidson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Trojans a 67-64 lead in overtime.
“I literally told her you don’t ever have to get me a gift ever again because those two shots in overtime were enough,” Southern Cal’s Kara Dunn said of Davidson. “I’m really proud of her, her maturity. Her confidence to step up and take the shots was huge for us.”
Davidson has stepped in and carried the Trojans as star Juju Watkins missed the season with a torn ACL. Watkins made the trip to Columbia and was on the bench cheering her teammates.
“We ask her to make big shots. We ask her to assist passes, play a ton of minutes,” Southern Cal coach Lindsay Gotlieb said. “She’s a really, really just a special basketball player and a really, good teammate. I think you see that with the chemistry of the team, that she hasn’t come in here and disconnected us. She’s come in here and connected us, and I think you saw that on display today. We needed every ounce of it.”
Off game for Clemson’s Moore
Moore, Clemson’s leading scorer who was averaging 13.5 points coming into the game, managed just nine points, all in the fourth quarter. The UAB transfer hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 61 with 50 seconds left in regulation.
In Moore’s absence, Taylor Johnson-Matthews picked up the slack and led Clemson with 16 points, including several key baskets in the second half. Morgan Lee added 12, including a 3-pointer, to cut the Trojans lead to 70-67 in overtime.
This story was originally published March 21, 2026 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Southern Cal WBB ousts Clemson from March Madness. Battle with Gamecocks next."
