No. 18 USC Women's Basketball Rolls Past Pepperdine 82-52

Friday, November 28

Los Angeles, Calif.

2:00 p.m.

USC

5-2,0-0Big Ten

Pepperdine

4-2,0-0WCC

Pepperdine

Southern California

Photo by: Katie Chin/USC Athletics

No. 18 USC Women's Basketball Rolls Past Pepperdine 82-52

November 28, 2025 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Press Conference

Trojans extend program record to 20-0 all-time against the Waves.

LOS ANGELES — Powered by a dominant two-way effort and a barrage of ball movement, USC rolled past Pepperdine, 82–52, on Friday afternoon at the Galen Center.

With the win, the Trojans improve to 5–2 overall and extend multiple program streaks, most notably moving to 20–0 all-time against the Waves. USC also secured its 17th straight home victory, the program's longest streak since an 18-game run from Feb. 1986 to Feb. 1988.

USC broke the game open with a 37–13 run stretching from the middle of the first quarter into the second, eventually building to 47–26 first-half lead. The Trojan offense clicked at its highest level of the season, setting new marks with 10 made three-pointers and 27 assists, while holding Pepperdine to 1-for-13 (.077) from three, the lowest by a USC opponent this season.

After taking a 21 point lead into halftime, USC maintained complete control in the second half, continuing to overwhelm Pepperdine on both ends of the floor. Senior Kara Dunn and Gerda Raulušaitytė were particularly efficient in the third, with Raulušaitytė scoring two fast-break layups and Dunn adding tough finishes inside.

Senior Dunn led all scorers with 19 points on a blistering 8-for-10 shooting, adding three rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and surpassing 100 career steals.  Freshman Jazzy Davidson delivered her sixth double-figure outing, scoring 18 points to go with four rebounds, five assists and a game-high three blocks.  Sophomore Kennedy Smith set a new career high with seven assists, while adding nine points, three rebounds and three steals. 

Making her first start of the season, senior Londynn Jones posted six points and five assists. In the paint, sophomore Vivian Iwuchukwu was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field for nine points, while junior Raulušaitytė chipped in a career-best seven points off the bench.

USC's defensive pressure forced 18 Pepperdine turnovers and held the Waves without a made three until the second quarter. The Trojans also dominated ball distribution, marking the first time since November 2024 that USC recorded back-to-back games with 20 or more assists.

The Trojans return to action against Saint Mary's on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. PT at the Galen Center.

Quotes:
HC Lindsay Gottlieb

On Friday's game against Pepperdine:
"I thought that was a really good challenge for us. Shout out to Coach Katie [Faulkner] who has turned Pepperdine around here pretty quickly. They run really good stuff. They were coming in shooting 40% from three as a team with a really good record… [Coach Courtney] Jaco did a great scout and tried to get them better… We tried to really execute. We wanted to hold them under 30% from three and we did that. We wanted to turn them over a bunch and we also did that. I thought we shared the ball well, 27 assists on 31 baskets is exceptional. [I'm] happy with a good team effort and we're still in a place where we want to keep getting better…"

On the team's defensive performance and chemistry:
"I thought our defensive [and] point of attack was really good. I think Kennedy [Smith] is really elite as a disrupter, and I thought everyone else fed off of her. It helped us to kind of change the tempo of the game when it was a little tight there early in the first quarter. I thought we did a pretty good job defending the three point line as a team. That was a big challenge for us as a group. Our bigs [were] guarding bigs that shoot the three and [were] dominating their matchup… We pushed the goal well and shared it well, and because of that, we shot it well… We want to keep people off the offensive glass. That's just something we know that we have to do to win at a high level… We want to continue to grow together as a team, communicate more, go on runs when we're winning and be able to stop runs when they have something going. It's just building [and] continuing to build that chemistry… together on the court… I'm excited about the journey with the group, and I thought today was a really good day."

SR Kara Dunn

On her 80% scoring average:
"It goes back to having so many people be threats and be able to score. I think that having people that can shoot, people that can post up, it opens the floor up for all of us. I think having versatile team members and having multiple ways of attack is really good for us."

SO Vivian Iwuchukwu

On her 100% scoring average:
"Kennedy had seven assists, and other people had five… I think that's really where it comes from. Posting up and trusting that my teammates are going to give me the ball, knowing that there's not going to be somebody that's going to come take it from behind me. Just them making the right plays."

On the veteran guidance from the team:

"It's really good to have [Londynn Jones and Kara Dunn] in the gym. And outside of the experience, people like Kennedy… have a lot of experience from last year. They're really good outlets to go to. Whenever I have questions or whenever we're in the midst of the game, [I'm] just going to them and asking them, 'Hey, what did I do?' They are so composed in the heat of the moment and it's really easy to go to them and ask them questions like that."

Main Takeaways
- With this win, the Trojans are now 20-0 all-time against the Waves. This victory also marks USC's 17th-straight home-win, the longest since the 18-game streak from Feb. 9, 1986 to Feb. 11, 1988
- USC went on a 37-13 run spanning from midway through the first quarter through the second to give the Trojans their largest lead in the first half at 47-21
- The Women of Troy recorded a new season high in three pointers with 10 and assists with 27. The last time USC had back-to-back games with over 20 assists was in Nov. of 2024
- Getting her first start of the season, SR Londynn Jones notched six points (2-for-2 FT) and had five assists
- SO Kennedy Smith recorded a career-high in assists with seven. The guard also contributed nine points, three rebounds and had three steals
- SR Kara Dunn scored a game-high 19 points (8-for-10 FG, 3-for-4 3PT) and eight field goals. She also contributed three rebounds, two blocks and two steals. With her two steals, the guard surpassed 100 career steals
- FR Jazzy Davidson turned in her sixth double-digit performance on Friday, scoring 18 points with four rebounds and five assists. She also tallied a game-high three blocks
- JR Gerda Raulušaitytė scored a career-high seven points (3-for-4 FG, 1-for-2 FT) and three rebounds
- SO Vivian Iwuchukwu tallied nine points, completing all of her attempts (4-for-4 FG, 1-for-1 FT). She also had two assists
- USC held Pepperdine to 1-13 (.077) from the three, marking the fewest 3PT field goals made by an opponent this season. The Waves three-point scoring average marks the lowest percentage by an opponent since Michigan State on Feb. 19, 2025 (1-for-13 3PT)