I think that it’s time we make a change. USC

In the wake of her worst loss in 5 seasons at USC, Lindsay Gottlieb turned on the movie of the Trojans’ 34-point loss at UCLA last weekend and discovered herself even more enraged than she had been initially Saturday night time. Looking back, her staff’s lack of effort was troubling. In the times that adopted, she reiterated that level over and over.

But three days later, the “hard lessons” the coach had hoped her staff would take from that loss appeared to be forgotten in the ultimate 5 minutes Tuesday against Oregon. What regarded at one level like a surefire, get-right win over the Ducks main into that ultimate, fourth-quarter stretch descended instead into a disastrous 71-66 defeat that left Gottlieb shaking her head.

To USC’s coach, who hadn’t dropped consecutive video games since January 2024, it was “about as upsetting a loss as we’ve had in this building.”

For her staff, it might mark a fork in the highway for this season. Either for better, or for worse.

“I think that it’s time we make a change,” guard Kara Dunn said. “We have to have a change of heart, a change of mind.”

Until the 4:46 mark of the fourth quarter Tuesday, the Trojans (10-5, 2-2 in the Big Ten) regarded properly on their method to stopping the skid from Saturday’s brutal loss to their bitter rival Bruins. Just as Oregon mounted a run, Londynn Jones knocked down a three-pointer to silence it. Freshman Jazzy Davidson pulled up on the next possession and hit a jumper, extending No. 21 USC’s lead to 9. It was her only basket of the second half, as she completed 5 of 20 from the sphere for 14 factors to go with 13 rebounds and 5 assists.

Those have been the last two buckets that the Trojans would rating Tuesday. Oregon’s Ari Long hit a three-pointer, then drained another on the next possession. The Galen Center crowd groaned, seemingly realizing what was coming next.

It performed out like a slow-motion car crash from there, the 2 groups locked at 66, but all the momentum drained out of the building. Dunn, who led all scorers with 21, had a lay-up blocked. On the next journey, Jones drove to the ring, had her shot stuffed and fell to the ground. Then, Davidson turned the ball over.

Out of a timeout, Long caught a cross in the nook and let another three-pointer rip. This one, her third in a 2:12 stretch, can be the dagger.

Of course, USC had a lot of possibilities before that level to draw back. It took a 16-point lead into halftime and led by 9 more than halfway through the fourth quarter.

But Gottlieb had seen a different demeanor from her staff in the second half, one she didn’t notably like. It reminded her of Saturday’s loss, and she let her staff understand it after.

“We came out like we’d arrived, like we had it in the bag,” Gottlieb said. “We were too casual.”

It didn’t help that USC was without sophomore guard Kennedy Smith, its best defender and emotional chief, who sat out with a decrease leg injury. She stays “day-to-day,” Gottlieb said.

USC actually may have used her in the second half, as Oregon put up 50 factors in contrast to just 21 before halftime.

“It was gross in every way, the way we handled when we had a lead, the way we handled when they were cutting into our lead,” Gottlieb said.

But it wasn’t just the protection that dropped off. Gottlieb was particularly sad with the Trojans’ shot choice, which she called “ridiculous” and “really, really bad.” USC knocked down just 9 pictures after halftime and only three in the fourth quarter.

Eventually, it caught up to them. And now, at the very start of USC’s Big Ten slate, Gottlieb finds herself in a place she hasn’t been in a while — with her staff slumping, the schedule stiffening and the season abruptly heading in the fallacious direction.