University Southern California Trojans
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USC Women’s Basketball Bound For NCAA March Madness
March 12, 2023 | Women's Basketball
The Women of Troy are back in the NCAA tourney for the first time since 2014.
LOS ANGELES — The USC women's basketball team has captured a No. 8 seed into its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014. The Women of Troy (21-9) will make their 17th overall trip to the tourney and first under second-year USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb. After posting its best Pac-12 record since that 2013-14 season, USC has scored a trip to Blacksburg, Va., to open its 2023 NCAA campaign against No. 9 seed South Dakota State (28-5) on Friday (March 17) with a shot at facing either host No. 1 Virginia Tech (27-4) or No. 16 Chattanooga (20-12) in the NCAA Second Round on Sunday (March 19).
"It feels incredible," Gottlieb said. "It's a really special accomplishment. The USC we wear on our chest stands for the incredible women that have come before us, so we're taking this really seriously, and I'm really proud of this accomplishment. We have a veteran group — although not all our time has been spent together — but mature, locked-in kids who just want to win and stay in this thing for as long as we can."
NCAA NOTES
• USC is 29-14 in the NCAA Tournament, with two NCAA title victories (1983 and 1984).
• This is the Trojans' 17th trip to the NCAA Tournament.
• USC is one of seven Pac-12 teams in this year's NCAA bracket.
• USC's last appearance was in 2014 after the Trojans captured an automatic berth by way of winning the Trojans' first-ever Pac-12 Tournament championship. USC was the first team ever to play four games in the conference tournament and won all four.
• USC was a No. 9 seed in the 2014 NCAA tourney, falling in the first round to St. John's 71-68 in Knoxville, Tenn.
• The last time USC earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament was 2006.
• Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb has now led three different programs to the NCAA Tournament — UC Santa Barbara (2009), California (seven appearances in eight seasons) and USC.
• Three current Trojans in their first season at USC bring in previous NCAA experience:
- Kadi Sissoko: 2019 as a freshman at Syracuse
- Koi Love: 2022 as a junior at Arizona
- Destiny Littleton: 2021 and 2022 at South Carolina (2022 NCAA Champion), 2018 and 2019 at Texas
• With the USC men's at-large selection to the 2023 March Madness, this marks the first time since 1997 that both the USC men's and women's programs have made the NCAA Tournament in the season.
IN THE POLLS
USC spent one week ranked No. 25 in the national AP rankings — its first AP ranking since 2016. Currently, USC is receiving votes in both polls this week. USC enters this week rated 31 in the NET rankings.
USC IN THE NATION
USC enters the week ranked as the No. 18 team in the nation in scoring defense, holding teams to an average of 54.8 points per game. The Trojans also are top-25 in three other categories: blocks per game (4th - 5.7 bpg), field goal percentage defense (11th‚ 35.4%) and 3-point percentage defense (25th — 27.3%).
TROJANS IN THE NATION
Individually, USC enters the week with players making their marks on the national stat sheets. With 3.37 blocks per game, Rayah Marshall ranks No. 2 in the nation, and she's No. 7 in total blocks (91). Marshall also is making her mark on the boards, ranked No. 8 with her 11.4 rebounds per game and No. 6 with 8.3 defensive rebounds per game. Another Trojan in the nation's top-25 to date is Destiny Littleton, who ranks 23rd with a free-throw percentage of 87.8.
PAC-12 PICK-EM
USC landed three players on the All-Pac-12 Team for the first time in program history, as Destiny Littleton, Rayah Marshall and Kadi Sissoko have each made a name for themselves this season for their work in the Trojans' successful 2022-23 campaign. Additionally, in a nod to USC's ferocious defensive efforts, Marshall has picked up a place on the All-Defensive Team while Okako Adika and Kayla Williams have earned All-Defensive Honorable Mention. That secured Pac-12 accolades for USC's entire starting lineup, which helped the Trojans to 21 wins as they entered postseason play. On March 1, the Pac-12 released its Pac-12 Media Awards, as selected by voting Pac-12 media members. Marshall and Sissoko earned All-Pac-12-Team honors there, with Marshall also picked up All-Defensive Team accolades.
"It feels incredible," Gottlieb said. "It's a really special accomplishment. The USC we wear on our chest stands for the incredible women that have come before us, so we're taking this really seriously, and I'm really proud of this accomplishment. We have a veteran group — although not all our time has been spent together — but mature, locked-in kids who just want to win and stay in this thing for as long as we can."
NCAA NOTES
• USC is 29-14 in the NCAA Tournament, with two NCAA title victories (1983 and 1984).
• This is the Trojans' 17th trip to the NCAA Tournament.
• USC is one of seven Pac-12 teams in this year's NCAA bracket.
• USC's last appearance was in 2014 after the Trojans captured an automatic berth by way of winning the Trojans' first-ever Pac-12 Tournament championship. USC was the first team ever to play four games in the conference tournament and won all four.
• USC was a No. 9 seed in the 2014 NCAA tourney, falling in the first round to St. John's 71-68 in Knoxville, Tenn.
• The last time USC earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament was 2006.
• Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb has now led three different programs to the NCAA Tournament — UC Santa Barbara (2009), California (seven appearances in eight seasons) and USC.
• Three current Trojans in their first season at USC bring in previous NCAA experience:
- Kadi Sissoko: 2019 as a freshman at Syracuse
- Koi Love: 2022 as a junior at Arizona
- Destiny Littleton: 2021 and 2022 at South Carolina (2022 NCAA Champion), 2018 and 2019 at Texas
• With the USC men's at-large selection to the 2023 March Madness, this marks the first time since 1997 that both the USC men's and women's programs have made the NCAA Tournament in the season.
IN THE POLLS
USC spent one week ranked No. 25 in the national AP rankings — its first AP ranking since 2016. Currently, USC is receiving votes in both polls this week. USC enters this week rated 31 in the NET rankings.
USC IN THE NATION
USC enters the week ranked as the No. 18 team in the nation in scoring defense, holding teams to an average of 54.8 points per game. The Trojans also are top-25 in three other categories: blocks per game (4th - 5.7 bpg), field goal percentage defense (11th‚ 35.4%) and 3-point percentage defense (25th — 27.3%).
TROJANS IN THE NATION
Individually, USC enters the week with players making their marks on the national stat sheets. With 3.37 blocks per game, Rayah Marshall ranks No. 2 in the nation, and she's No. 7 in total blocks (91). Marshall also is making her mark on the boards, ranked No. 8 with her 11.4 rebounds per game and No. 6 with 8.3 defensive rebounds per game. Another Trojan in the nation's top-25 to date is Destiny Littleton, who ranks 23rd with a free-throw percentage of 87.8.
PAC-12 PICK-EM
USC landed three players on the All-Pac-12 Team for the first time in program history, as Destiny Littleton, Rayah Marshall and Kadi Sissoko have each made a name for themselves this season for their work in the Trojans' successful 2022-23 campaign. Additionally, in a nod to USC's ferocious defensive efforts, Marshall has picked up a place on the All-Defensive Team while Okako Adika and Kayla Williams have earned All-Defensive Honorable Mention. That secured Pac-12 accolades for USC's entire starting lineup, which helped the Trojans to 21 wins as they entered postseason play. On March 1, the Pac-12 released its Pac-12 Media Awards, as selected by voting Pac-12 media members. Marshall and Sissoko earned All-Pac-12-Team honors there, with Marshall also picked up All-Defensive Team accolades.
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