Lindsay Gottlieb, USC women's basketball head coach, gave a candid assessment of why her team was ‘rusty' in their NCAA Tournament opener after the Trojans routed UNC Greensboro 71-25 in the first round on Saturday at Galen Center.

“Our players had a good energy about them beforehand,” Gottlieb said, per Los Angeles Times reporter Ryan Kartje, “but maybe that sped us up a little bit. I think we figured it out. … It took us a little bit to get in a flow.”

Despite the top-seeded Trojans (29-3) winning by a wide margin and advancing to the second round, Gottlieb did not hesitate to acknowledge areas of improvement, particularly on the offensive end. USC missed its first five shots and was held to 12 points in the first quarter by 16th-seeded UNC Greensboro.

“Glad to get the first one out of the way,” Gottlieb said, per Beth Harris of the Associated Press. “We were a little bit rusty on offense.”

The Spartans cut the deficit to two points early in the second quarter before USC went on a 16-3 run. Six different Trojans scored during that stretch, which included a strong defensive effort that limited the Spartans to three free throws in the period. USC led 28-11 at halftime.

JuJu Watkins briefly exits USC women's basketball game for injury scare

UNC Greensboro Spartans guard Nya Smith (22) is double teams by USC Trojans guards JuJu Watkins (12) and Kennedy Smith (11) during the second quarter.
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“Our defense is something we really take pride in, so when things aren’t going our way on one side of the floor we really try to make it up,” said star guard JuJu Watkins, who led USC with 22 points in under 30 minutes of action.

Watkins briefly exited in the second and third quarters with apparent discomfort in her hand and leg but returned later in the game.

“It’s the end of the season, body is a little banged up,” Watkins said. “On to the next. Nobody cares. I’m all good.”

Kiki Iriafen added 13 points and 13 rebounds for USC. Rayah Marshall recorded a game-high seven steals as part of the Trojans’ defensive effort, which forced 23 turnovers and held the Spartans to 13% shooting from the field.

UNCG was making its second NCAA Tournament appearance and first in 27 years. The Spartans, who won the Southern Conference title, were limited to seven made field goals and had no players score in double figures.

USC advances to face ninth-seeded Mississippi State on Monday in the second round.