Maryland women’s basketball head coach Brenda Frese felt like her team lost a battle it rarely does in its loss against No. 14 Ohio State on Sunday: physicality. She knows that can’t happen again when
the Terps play USC in Los Angeles on Thursday night.
“It’s going to be a physical style of play,” Frese said. “We’ve got to be able to handle what we get and be the more aggressive team… I know we can be.”
The Terps and Trojans will tip off at 9 p.m. ET Thursday night on Big Ten Network.
USC Trojans (10-6, 2-3 Big Ten)
A week ago, it looked like USC would be part of a run of brutally difficult games for the Terps, where they were slated to play seven ranked opponents in eight games. Since then, the Trojans have lost by five and one to unranked Oregon and Minnesota, respectively.
USC’s status as an elite team within the Big Ten is now in question, and the Terps look like a much larger favorite than they would have a week ago. Still, the Trojans have proven themselves capable, with wins over tough teams like NC State, No. 24 Nebraska and Washington.
Players to watch
Jazzy Davidson, freshman guard, 6-foot-1, No. 9 — Davidson was the No. 1 recruit in the high school class of 2025 out of Oregon. After star JuJu Watkins went down in the 2025 NCAA Tournament and remains out for the entirety of this season, it meant Davidson had to step into a much larger role when she arrived on campus. She’s proved herself ready, leading the Trojans in scoring at 16.4 points per game. Davidson is also a prolific defender, ranking top 10 in the nation in blocks per game at 2.6.
Kara Dunn, senior guard, 5-foot-11, No. 24 — After three seasons and two All-ACC teams at Georgia Tech, Dunn brought her talents to Los Angeles for her final season of college basketball. Dunn has been the second option to Davidson, but has been the more efficient scorer, shooting 45.3% from the floor and 38% from beyond the arc. Dunn takes multiple threes a game and Maryland can not afford to lose track of her on the perimeter.
Londynn Jones, senior guard, 5-foot-4, No. 3 — Terps fans may remember Jones from last season’s matchup against UCLA, where the undersized guard spent the first three years of her career making her name as a sharpshooter. Jones took the trip across town for her last year of eligibility — she’s averaging 11.6 points per game on over 35% shooting from deep.
Strength
Rim protection. USC is fifth in the country in blocked shots per game (6.4) and are able to play relatively clean while doing so, placing below the national average in fouls per game. Much of Maryland’s offense has been focused on getting to the rack, and the Trojans are not going to make life easy for the Terps down there. Frese could lean on Yarden Garzon and others to take more shots from the perimeter than normal.
Weakness
Depth. Beyond their three “players to watch,” the Trojans’ only real threat on the offensive side of the ball is returning guard Kennedy Smith, who has missed the team’s last two games with a lower leg injury. Beyond those four players, the team doesn’t have one player averaging over four points a game. Maryland should be able to wear USC down with its much larger rotation of effective players.
Three things to watch
1. Can Welson’s breakout continue? The biggest surprise in Maryland’s last two games has been the play of freshman guard Rainey Welson off the bench. She went 4-of-8 from the 3-point line against Rutgers and Ohio State. If she continue to shoot it like that, the Terps have gained an invaluable member of their rotation off the bench.
2. West coast trip. In UCLA and USC’s first years as members of the Big Ten, Maryland got to host both in College Park for their matchups (which they lost both of). This will be the first time the Terps make the longer trip to the Los Angeles area to play both schools within four days of each other.
3. Injury plague. Both of these teams have been bitten by the injury bug and are being forced to play with a roster that is not the one their fans want to see. So far, Maryland has done a better job of overcoming its shorthanded-ness, but tough road tests like this will continue to see how far the team can go without multiple key cogs in its machine.
