Any sports team is going to be weaker and less effective on a day when its three best players are unable to play. USC faced that situation on Thursday afternoon against Long Beach State. The Trojans faced the Beach without superstar JuJu Watkins, star rebounder-defender Rayah Marshall, and elite role player Kaitlyn Davis. Missing even one of those three players would hurt USC. Missing two of them is significant. Missing all three is a shock to the system.
The Trojans did not know how they would handle this unwelcome and very uncertain situation in Long Beach in their last game before Christmas, also their final nonconference game on the slate.
Coaches learn about their players in situations such as this one. USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb and assistant coach Beth Burns learned just how resourceful and skilled McKenzie Forbes is.
Forbes — a terrific role player when Watkins, Marshall, and Davis are on the court — had to be the leader of the pack in this game with the stars unable to play.
She couldn’t have played that role any better. Forbes, the transfer from Harvard who has given USC an Ivy League-flavored boost this season, answered the call against the Beach with 36 huge points. She also contributed 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals, making plays at both ends of the floor.
Kayla Padilla — another Ivy League transfer (Penn) who has been valuable for the Trojans — did contribute 16 points. USC’s team defense forced 22 Long Beach turnovers. Those contributions mattered. Taylor Bigby (11), Kayla Williams (9), and Roxane Makolo (9) combined for 29 points and made important plays down the stretch. It’s not as though this was a one-person show … but USC definitely needed a leader by example in this game under these difficult circumtances.
Forbes was the leader USC needed. As a result, the Trojans are 10-0, and they know that if things get really tough, they can band together without their best players.
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