Davidson leads USC’s rout

Freshman bounces back from struggles at Notre Dame with 20 points, 14 rebounds.

- BY RYAN KARTJE

When Lindsay Gottlieb put together a nonconference schedule she believed to be the hardest in the country, USC's coach knew it would be an uphill climb. But that was the point. She wanted her team to be tested nightly, to play on "the biggest stages.

"It's not a schedule designed to win every nonconference game by an average of 40 points," Gottlieb said earlier this month.

But after losing twice through a five-game gauntlet to start the season, a blowout nonconference win was precisely what the doctor ordered for USC.

Any pent-up frustration still lingering from USC's last-second loss to Notre Dame was promptly taken out on Tennessee Tech on Tuesday in an 85-44 win for the Trojans.

"It was a really tough loss the other night," Gottlieb said. "No doubt about that, for all of us. But the only thing you can do is utilize those lessons that are painful to get better."