# 2022–23 USC Trojans women's basketball team

The 2022–23 USC Trojans women's basketball team represented the University of Southern California during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Trojans played their home games at the Galen Center and were members of the Pac-12 Conference. The squad was led by second-year head coach Lindsay Gottlieb, who was hired on May 10, 2021.
The Trojans finished the regular Pac-12 season tied for 4th with UCLA and Arizona. Because both of those teams held tiebreakers over USC, the Trojans earned the 6th seed in the 2023 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball tournament.

## Previous season

The 2021-22 USC Trojans women's basketball team finished with an overall record of 12-16 and a 5-12 conference record. They earned the 10th seed in the 2022 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball tournament.

## Offseason changes

Assistant Coach Danyelle Grant moved to serve as an assistant coach at Rice. In her place, Gottlieb hired Beth Burns from Louisville as Associate Head Coach.
As for players, the Women of Troy brought in 1 first-year and 7 transfers. 3 students graduated, and 6 students transferred to other schools.

### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Tera Reed | 3 | G | 6'0" | Graduate Student | Auckland, NZ | Graduated |
| Jordan Sanders | 5 | F | 5'11" | Graduate Student | Springfield, MO | Graduated |
| Amaya Oliver | 10 | G/F | 6'2" | Sophomore | Richmond, CA | Transferred to Loyola Marymount |
| Shemera Williams | 11 | G | 6'2" | Junior | Milwaukee, WI | Transferred to SIU Salukis |
| Angel Jackson | 15 | C | 6'5" | Junior | Richmond, CA | Transferred to Jackson State |
| Kyra White | 22 | G | 5'10" | Junior | Converse, TX | Transferred to UT San Antonio |
| Desiree Caldwell | 24 | G | 5'8" | Senior | San Antonio, TX | Graduated |
| Jordyn Jenkins | 32 | F | 6'2" | Sophomore | Kent, WA | Transferred to UT San Antonio |
| Alissa Pili | 10 | F | 6'0" | Junior | Anchorage, AK | Transferred to Utah |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Koi Love | 0 | F | 6'0" | Junior | Orlando, FL | Arizona |
| Taylor Bigby | 1 | G | 6'1" | Sophomore | Las Vegas, NV | Oregon |
| Kayla Williams | 4 | G | 5'7" | Junior | Los Angeles, CA | UC Irvine |
| Destiny Littleton | 11 | G | 5'9" | Graduate Student | San Diego, CA | South Carolina |
| Okako Adika | 24 | G/F | 6'0" | Graduate Student | Holstebro, DK | Texas Christian |
| Kadi Sissoko | 30 | F | 6'2" | Graduate Student | Paris, FR | Minnesota |
| Rokia Doumbia | 52 | G | 5'9" | Graduate Student | Bamako, ML | Purdue |

### 2022 recruiting class

| Name | Overall Rank | Position | Position Rank | Hometown | High School | Height | ESPN Stars | ESPN Grade |
| Aaliyah Gayles | 8 | G | 3 | Las Vegas, NV | Spring Valley High School | 5'9" | 5 | 97 |
Gayles will sit out this whole season as she recovers from her injuries that resulted from gun violence in April 2022. Since then, Gayles has relearned how to walk and has been receiving support via coaching, physical therapy, counseling, and various other services.

## Roster
### Awards and honors

* Gottlieb
** ESPN Coach of the Week
* Adika
** Pac-12 All-Defensive Team Honorable Mention
* Littleton
** Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Player of the Week
** NCAA March Madness Weekly Starting Five
** College Sports Communicators All-District Academic Honors
** All-Pac-12
* Marshall
** Preseason All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention
** Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Player of the Week Award
** NCAA March Madness Weekly Starting Five
** Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List
** Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist
** All-Pac-12
** Pac-12 All-Defensive Team
* Miura
** College Sports Communicators All-District Academic Honors
* Sissoko
** All-Pac-12
* Williams
** Pac-12 All-Defensive Team Honorable Mention
* Team
** ESPN Win of the Week
** USBWA National Team of the Week

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 30, 2022* 3:00 pm | | Cal State Los Angeles | W 87–48 | | 25 – Sissoko | 15 – Marshall | 8 – Williams | Galen Center (224) Los Angeles, CA |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2022* 7:00 pm | | Cal State Bakersfield | W 86–41 | 1–0 | 15 – Tie | 10 – Marshall | 6 – Williams | Galen Center (818) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 12, 2022* 7:00 pm | | Idaho State | W 75–42 | 2–0 | 19 – Littleton | 6 – Tie | 6 – Tie | Galen Center (561) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 15, 2022* 6:00 pm, WCC Network | | at San Diego | W 58–50 | 3–0 | 19 – Sissoko | 9 – Marshall | 4 – Littleton | Jenny Craig Pavilion (567) San Diego, CA |
| November 19, 2022* 2:00 pm | | at San Francisco | W 74–48 | 4–0 | 21 – Sissoko | 10 – Marshall | 3 – Littleton | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, CA |
| November 23, 2022* 2:00 pm | | Penn | W 66–60 | 5–0 | 19 – Marshall | 18 – Marshall | 5 – Littleton | Galen Center (689) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 26, 2022* 1:00 pm | | Utah State | W 79–48 | 6–0 | 20 – Sissoko | 7 – Marshall | 7 – Williams | Galen Center (316) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 30, 2022* 7:00 pm | | Cal Baptist | W 69–58 | 7–0 | 16 – Littleton | 14 – Littleton | 4 – Tie | Galen Center (228) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 3, 2022* 7:00 pm | | Merrimack | W 88–40 | 8–0 | 21 – Bigby | 10 – Adika | 7 – Williams | Galen Center (258) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 6, 2022* 7:00 pm | | San Jose State | W 71–44 | 9–0 | 17 – Sissoko | 8 – Akunwafo | 5 – Miura | Galen Center (258) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 15, 2022 7:00 pm, P12N | | No. 10 UCLA Rivalry | L 56–59 | 9–1 (0–1) | 20 – Sissoko | 10 – Marshall | 7 – Littleton | Galen Center (3,109) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 18, 2022* 12:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Texas Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge | L 48–62 | 9–2 | 12 – Tie | 18 – Marshall | 6 – Littleton | American Airlines Center (4,700) Dallas, TX |
| December 21, 2022* 2:00 pm | | Saint Mary's | W 71–45 | 10–2 | 18 – Marshall | 15 – Marshall | 5 – Tie | Galen Center (304) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 30, 2022 6:00 pm, P12N | | at Oregon State | W 69–58 | 11–2 (1–1) | 33 – Marshall | 16 – Marshall | 6 – Littleton | Gill Coliseum (3,769) Corvallis, OR |
| January 1, 2023 2:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 17 Oregon | L 45–73 | 11–3 (1–2) | 14 – Marshall | 11 – Marshall | 2 – Tie | Matthew Knight Arena (6,031) Eugene, OR |
| January 8, 2023 2:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 12 UCLA Rivalry | L 60–61 | 11–4 (1–3) | 15 – Tie | 8 – Marshall | 3 – Littleton | Pauley Pavilion (6,638) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 13, 2023 7:00 pm, P12N | | California | W 63–43 | 12–4 (2–3) | 18 – Littleton | 11 – Marshall | 5 – Littleton | Galen Center (1,031) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 15, 2023 2:00 pm, P12N | | No. 2 Stanford | W 55–46 | 13–4 (3–3) | 18 – Littleton | 11 – Adika | 6 – Littleton | Galen Center (2,418) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 20, 2023 7:00 pm, P12N | | at Washington State | W 51–44 | 14–4 (4–3) | 19 – Sissoko | 9 – Marshall | 2 – Tie | Beasley Coliseum (926) Pullman, WA |
| January 22, 2023 12:00 pm, P12N | | at Washington | W 63–54 $^{OT}$ | 15–4 (5–3) | 20 – Littleton | 16 – Marshall | 3 – Sissoko | Alaska Airlines Arena (2,543) Seattle, WA |
| January 27, 2023 6:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 9 Utah | L 73–83 | 15–5 (5–4) | 15 – Tie | 11 – Marshall | 5 – Sissoko | Jon M. Huntsman Center (3,251) Salt Lake City, UT |
| January 29, 2023 11:00 am, P12N | | at No. 25 Colorado | W 71–54 | 16–5 (6–4) | 21 – Littleton | 12 – Sissoko | 5 – Sissoko | CU Events Center (2,377) Boulder, CO |
| February 3, 2023 7:00 pm, P12N | | Arizona State | W 64–49 | 17–5 (7–4) | 23 – Sissoko | 21 – Marshall | 4 – Marshall | Galen Center (801) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 5, 2023 12:00 pm, P12N | | No. 22 Arizona | L 75–81 $^{2OT}$ | 17–6 (7–5) | 21 – Littleton | 20 – Marshall | 5 – Littleton | Galen Center (1,356) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 10, 2023 7:00 pm, P12N | | Oregon | W 56–51 | 18–6 (8–5) | 18 – Tie | 11 – Tie | 4 – Littleton | Galen Center (1,126) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 12, 2023 12:00 pm, P12N | | Oregon State | W 60–56 $^{OT}$ | 19–6 (9–5) | 18 – Littleton | 14 – Marshall | 3 – Tie | Galen Center (674) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 17, 2023 8:00 pm, P12N | No. 25 | at No. 3 Stanford | L 47–50 | 19–7 (9–6) | 15 – Littleton | 12 – Akunwafo | 3 – Tie | Maples Pavilion (6,343) Stanford, CA |
| February 19, 2023 1:00 pm, P12N | No. 25 | at California | L 78–81 $^{OT}$ | 19–8 (9–7) | 30 – Sissoko | 9 – Marshall | 4 – Sissoko | Haas Pavilion (1,932) Berkeley, CA |
| February 23, 2023 8:00 pm, P12N | | Washington | W 47–43 | 20–8 (10–7) | 19 – Sissoko | 10 – Marshall | 5 – Littleton | Galen Center (842) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 25, 2023 12:00 pm, P12N | | Washington State | W 68–65 $^{2OT}$ | 21–8 (11–7) | 19 – Sissoko | 13 – Sissoko | 3 – Tie | Galen Center (2,832) Los Angeles, CA |
| Pac-12 tournament |||||||||
| March 1, 2023 8:30 pm, P12N | (6) | vs. (11) Oregon State First Round | L 48–56 | 21–9 | 17 – Sissoko | 11 – Marshall | 5 – Littleton | Michelob Ultra Arena (3,329) Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 17, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPNEWS | (8 S3) | vs. (9 S3) South Dakota State First Round | L 57–62 $^{OT}$ | 21–10 | 17 – Marshall | 13 – Marshall | 4 – Littleton | Cassell Coliseum (8,925) Blacksburg, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S3=Seattle 3. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||||||
Source: USCTrojans.com

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | RV | RV | RV | RV | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — |