Lindsay Gottlieb retraces the larger journey USC women’s basketball has made
USC is in the Elite Eight. The Trojans face UConn Monday night for a spot in the Final Four. This women’s basketball program has come a long way. One year ago, when USC was returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014, coach Lindsay Gottlieb reflected on the 2023 team and its significant journey to bring USC women’s hoops back to relevance. One can hear echoes of the sacrifice and team-first attitude which have carried the 2024 team even deeper in March Madness.
Gottlieb spoke to the press in Blacksburg, Virginia, after USC’s 2023 NCAA Tournament game versus South Dakota State:
“In the spring of last year when I figured out where we needed to go, what the direction needed to be, and how we were going to get there, I was very transparent with this is where we’re going, this is how we’re going to shape the culture,” Gottlieb said. “I had to go out and get a bunch of transfers who believed in that vision, a mix of people from a lot of different places. Our north star and our driving force has always been that we wanted to be in the postseason. We wanted to win. What does winning look like? It’s a bunch of people who really bought into that all year, and then we coached them up in terms of how it has to look in terms of the effort and the intensity. I credit our players. I told them I think there’s a lot of great things in store for this program.
“I’ll never forget this group,” Gottlieb continued about her 2023 squad. “They changed the perceptions of what people think of us. A couple of them were super seniors in their last year of eligibility, and even though they might not be here when we do some other big things in this tournament, in my mind they’ll be part of it, they’ll be part of the Trojan legacy in a way that’s really important to me. I’m proud of that, and it’s something that’s been part of our identity all year long.”
Gottlieb also commented specifically on Rayah Marshall, and how her first phone call at USC was to keep her from leaving through the transfer portal.
“She’s been coachable, she wants to be great, she allows us to push her. She got a taste of it tonight. That can be a scary thing in a good way. She’s not happy with the feeling and that’s going to drive her,” Gottlieb said. “Her talent is limitless. We’re going to help make her into one of the best players she can be, one of the best players in the country.”
Marshall and the Trojans play for the Final Four on Monday night in Portland against UConn.
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