No.18 USC Women’s Basketball Handles New Mexico State 87-48 During Season Opener

Tuesday, November 4

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

USC

1-0,0-0Big Ten

New Mexico State

0-1,0-0CUSA

New Mexico St.

Southern California

No.18 USC Women’s Basketball Handles New Mexico State 87-48 During Season Opener

November 04, 2025 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Press Conference Results (PDF) Highlights

Four Trojans score in double digits as USC wins 11th straight season opener.

LOS ANGELES – Four Trojans reached double digits including three newcomers as No. 18 USC women's basketball cruised to an 87-48 opening night victory over New Mexico State. With the win, USC picks up its 11^th straight season opening victory and improves to 38-11 all-time in openers.

USC debuted a fresh starting lineup on Tuesday evening that featured just one of last year's starters in Kennedy Smith. Smith opened the game with an early layup to give the Trojans their first points of the 2025-26 season. UCLA transfer Londynn Jones came off the bench and contributed eight points in the first quarter, helping USC to an early 20-13 lead.

The second quarter saw freshman Jazzy Davidson score the first bucket of her collegiate career, as the Trojans put up 25 points and held the Aggies to just ten.  Newcomers Gerda Raulušaityte and Dayana Mendes both recorded their first points as Trojans during the second quarter, with the pair combining for nine points off the bench. USC held a commanding 45-23 lead heading into the half, with the Trojans picking up 15 points off 14 Aggie turnovers through two quarters.

Junior Malia Samuels opened scoring for the second half with a three-pointer to extend USC's lead. An additional five points from Davidson and four from Londynn Jones, combined with six forced turnovers and three blocks, helped the Women of Troy pull ahead.  USC shot just 33.3 percent in the third quarter but managed to keep a commanding 65-39 lead headed into the final quarter.

Eight Trojans scored during the final ten minutes of play as USC held the Aggies to just nine points. The Trojans shot 63.6 percent from the field and put up 22 fourth quarter points to solidify the opening night win.

Raulušaitytė's Trojan debut was highlighted by a team-leading nine rebounds, including five offensive boards. Jones led USC in scoring with 16 points, while freshman Davidson put up 14 with five rebounds and four assists. Davidson also led the Trojans in minutes played (31). Georgia Tech transfer Kara Dunn also had herself a night, scoring 12 points and contributing eight boards.

USC will now hit the road for the first time this season as the Trojans travel to Charlotte, North Carolina for the Ally Tipoff event on Sunday, Nov. 9. The neutral site game against No. 9 NC State at the Spectrum Center will tipoff at 12 p.m. PT on ESPN.

NOTABLES:
First Quarter
- SO Kennedy Smith opened the game with a layup, making the Women of Troy's first points of the season
- SR Kara Dunn recorded her first point as a Trojan with a free throw
- Smith drained USC's first three-pointer of the game to make the score 8-4, Trojan advantage
- SR Londynn Jones scored her first points at a Trojan with a layup
- Smith and Jones tied for a game-high eight points in the first quarter

Second Quarter
- FR Jazzy Davidson scored the first points of her career with a driving layup
- JR Gerda Raulušaitye recorded her first points as a Trojan with a free throw
- SO Dayana Mendes drained a triple, recording her first points as a Trojan
- USC out-rebounded the Aggies in the first half 24-9 and recorded twice as many assists (8-4)
- In the first half, Smith recorded a team-high 11 points

Third Quarter
- JR Malia Samuels opened scoring for the second half with a three-pointer to make the score 48-23, USC advantage
- Davidson completed a three-point play with a turnaround jumpshot followed by a free throw at the 7:04 mark
- JR Yakiya Milton scored her first points as a Trojan with a layup
- R-FR Laura Williams recorded her first points as a Trojan with two free throws

Fourth Quarter
- SO Vivian Iwuchukwu scored the Women of Troy's first points from the field with a driving layup
- SO Rian Forestier sank a triple coming off the bench to make the score 71-42
- In the second half, Raulušaitye tallied a game-high five rebounds in seven minutes of play
- USC out-rebounded NM State 25-15 in the second half

Main Takeaways
- USC is now 38-11 all-time in season openers
- USC is now 24-2 all-time when the opening game is at home
- USC is now 45-5 all-time in first home games of season
- The Women of Troy have won the past eleven straight season openers
- In her collegiate debut, FR Jazzy Davidson scored 14 points (6-for-7 FT), five rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. She also played for a team-high 31 minutes
- SR Londynn Jones scored a team-high 16 points (6-for-11 FG, 4-for-4 FT). The guard also recorded three rebounds, three assists and two steals
- SO Kennedy Smith set a new career-high in free throws made with six. The guard also recorded 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals
- SR Kara Dunn scored 12 points (2-for-3 3PT, 2-for-4 FT) and recorded eight rebounds and two steals
- SO Dayana Mendes set her career-high in made three-pointers with three, completing all of her attempts. She also tallied five rebounds
- JR Gerda Raulušaityte recorded a game-high nine rebounds during her first NCAA competition. She also recorded three points, an assist and a block
- In her first game with the Women of Troy, R-FR Laura Williams scored four points, three rebounds and one block

QUOTES:

HC Lindsay Gottlieb
On the team's performance in the fourth quarter:

"I'd love to shoot 64% every quarter that we play. I think we continue to tell this team, 'Let's play the right way, let's try to get to the best shot. Make the right basketball play over and over and over and it leads to high percentage shots.' In addition, I do think we have depth, and I do think we have a conditioning factor to us that should give us an edge later in games. When other teams wear down, hopefully things get easier for us. That's the idea."

Jazzy Davidson
On playing in her first collegiate basketball game:

"I'm super grateful to be here and for the opportunity. It's surreal playing in my first college game. I'm super excited. I was a little nervous at first, but I got over the nerves. My teammates and coaches reminded me to slow down and just stay in the moment."