Earlier this month USC lost to Washington 76-64 in the Big 10 women’s tourney but still earned an at-large bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Trojans made the Elite 8 in each of the past 2 years as a #1 seed and will open as a #9 seed against Clemson in Columbia on Saturday. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with USC FR G Jazzy Davidson about being named an All-American as a freshman and making the NCAA tourney.
You finished your high school career as the all-time leading scorer in Oregon’s Class 6A history with 2726 PTS: what is the secret to being a great scorer? The confidence that my teammates/coaches instilled in me during high school, which meant the world to me.
Last year you played in the McDonald’s All-American Game and the 2025 Nike Hoop Summit: which of your fellow honorees impressed you the most (Sienna Betts/Aaliyah Chavez/other)? Everybody there was a very good player. Sienna and I have been friends for a long time so getting to play with her 1 last time was super-fun.
You were the #1 player in the Class of 2025: what made you choose USC? The coaching staff. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb has been recruiting me since I was in middle school and continued to do so throughout high school. When I visited the campus in person, I realized that you cannot fake the culture they have here.
What makes Lindsay such a good coach? The relationships she builds with her players. We can have an open dialogue about anything, and she is open to new ideas.
You played for Team USA at the 2025 FIBA U-19 World Cup/2024 FIBA U-18 Women’s AmeriCup/2024 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup: what did it mean to you to represent your country/win all those gold medals? It means everything. It is something I have dreamed about since I was young, so it was amazing to win those golds.
Earlier this month you were named Big 10 ROY and last Wednesday you were the only freshman named to the AP All-American team: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? It is just a huge testament to the people around me. The growth that people are seeing in me now is due to them.
You were also named to the conference all-defensive team and are the only player in the country averaging 2+ BPG and 2+ SPG: what is the key to being a great defender? It goes back to coaching. I have always prided myself on my defense, but Coach B (Beth Burns) has helped me a lot on the defensive side of things.
In your 2nd college game, you scored 21 PTS including the game-winning layup with 8.2 seconds left to clinch a 1-PT win over NC State: where does that rank among the highlights of your season so far? It was 1 of my favorite games this season. It was our 1st road trip as a team, and we fought back to win it thanks to a great team performance.
You suffered a right shoulder injury in the opening minutes of your conference tourney game against Washington 2 weeks ago: how are you feeling? I am feeling ready, excited to play again, and my shoulder feels much better than it did 2 weeks ago.
Any prediction for your game vs. Clemson tomorrow in Columbia, SC? They are an amazing team so it should be a very competitive game.
