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On Saturday night at 9 p.m. ET (FS1) in Los Angeles, the real USC will be identified.
But somewhat ironically, both No. 2 South Carolina and No. 8 Southern California are entering the matchup with different identities than expected. For the past two seasons, the Trojans have been defined by JuJu Watkins, a Hollywood star-level hooper who almost singularly catapulted the Women of Troy back to national relevance. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks’ run of dynastic success under Dawn Staley has been driven by dominant bigs, with their excellence founded on an ownership of the interior.
Early in the 2025-26 season, both programs are discovering new versions of themselves.
As Josh Felton recently explained, USC is blossoming into a defense-first team. Opponents are turning it over 21 times per game against the Trojans, with then-No. 9 NC State coughing it up 18 times during what became a comeback win for USC. Four Trojans—junior guard Malia Samuels (2.5), freshman guard Jazzy Davidson (2.0), senior wing Kara Dunn (2.0) and sophomore wing Kennedy Smith (1.5)—are averaging at least 1.5 steals per game. Davidson also has deployed her elite length to swat three shots per game. With a lockdown defense and just enough offense, whether that be more star-making scoring bursts from Davidson and or the 3-point shooting of senior guard and UCLA transfer Londynn Jones, USC might have quickly found a new winning formula.
At South Carolina, the story is a bit more complicated. While the Gamecocks got off to a great start, their standing at the top of sport suddenly appears precarious.
Before South Carolina’s most-recent win over Clemson Staley announced the suspension of sophomore guard Maddy McDaniel/ McDaniel already was expected to miss the game due to injury. According to Staley, she’s not with the team in LA; the coach also didn’t elaborate on whether or not McDaniel will return to the team.
For now, the McDaniel absence leaves the Gamecocks with nine active players, as the season-long and ACL-related absences of would be-senior forwards Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins already had the Gamecocks operating below their full complement.
In addition to the potential off-the-court distraction with the McDaniel situation, the game against Clemson also revealed some glaring on-court issues. Clemson did not deliver a defeat to South Carolina—as a lockdown fourth quarter, where the Gamecocks shut down the Tigers in 20-2 fashion, resulted in the Gamecocks earning another relatively comfortable win over their in-state “rival”—but the game did enough to suggest that South Carolina might struggle to crank out dominant wins against higher-caliber opponents.
South Carolina’s halfcourt offense was clunky.
The problem, however, was not a lack of enough players, but not enough of one player. More specifically, not enough Ta’Niya Latson.
Whether due to instruction or her own instinct, the super-scorer senior guard has been deferential since donning a South Carolina uniform, seeming to prioritize getting her teammates involved before looking for her own. Against Clemson, Latson took only eight field goals, including just one 3-pointer, earned just four free throws and had three assists to four turnovers. She finished with 12 points in 34 minutes. While an egalitarian-minded offensive approach can have its benefits, so would Latson looking to score first (and second and third).
Latson’s move to South Carolina often has been framed as Latson undergoing a South Carolina-ization, where the elite program would help the elite player round out her game in winning ways. Yet, maybe South Carolina needs to Latson-ize. Let Ta’Niya be Ta’Niya, a tough bucket getter who will find a way to put the ball in the basket, regardless of scheme or strategy. If Latson goes into score-first mode, the opposition will have to divert more defensive attention to her, which then should set her teammates up for more advantageous opportunities, such as open 3s for junior guard Tessa Johnson or finishes around the rim for sophomore forward Joyce Edwards.
Against a USC team sporting long and athletic defensive playmakers, a South Carolina halfcourt offense that aimlessly tries to get more players involved is almost sure to fail. But as the Trojans know well from their two seasons with Watkins, just letting a scoring star go to work can lead to wins. Latson, if unleashed, can do that for the Gamecocks, and South Carolina likely will exit LA claiming to be the real USC. If not, Southern Cal will own the USC label, as well as another top-10 upset win.
