LOS ANGELES — Tears welled in Cori Close’s eyes. It was one of Londynn Jones’ final moments as a Bruin. The UCLA women’s basketball coach and player had plenty to celebrate: a Final Four run during which Jones played a vital part, albeit second fiddle for scoring alongside Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice and Co., and a three-season stretch of vital guard minutes.

But this was goodbye; Jones headed across town, switching out blue and gold for cardinal and gold. Two years ago, Jones handed USC its first loss of the season with a 21-point effort at a sold-out Pauley Pavilion. Now, Jones is spending her senior season as a Trojan, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Following USC’s season-opening victory over New Mexico State earlier this month, Jones was asked if she and her family burned all of their UCLA gear.

The Riverside native had an answer at the ready.

“We don’t wear blue anymore,” Jones said Nov. 4.

And why should she? Close understands. Jones’s coach of three years in Westwood cried at the team banquet for a reason, sharing with the shooting guard and her family how “instrumental” she was in the Bruins’ program. The competitive fervor that Jones shares on the court across three NCAA Tournament runs as a Bruin is at the heart of Close’s logic.

“She should be that passionate, and that’s the kind of competitor she’s always been,” Close said recently. “She didn’t wear red when she was in the Bruins’ uniform. And now I understand fully why she would say that now that she’s with them.”

Jones sure dons the red – or cardinal to be accurate – and she sure roars offensively too, leading No. 18 USC (4-2) to an 85-44 victory over Tennessee Tech (4-2) with a season-high 20 points off the bench on Tuesday night at the Galen Center. She helped pace the Trojans alongside freshman sensation Jazzy Davidson’s 20-point, 16-rebound performance, the 6-foot-1 guard’s first-career double-double. Jones shot a perfect 4 for 4 from behind the arc (7 for 9 overall) in just 24 minutes.

USC responded well to its two-point road loss to No. 19 Notre Dame last week. Tennessee Tech had shown comfort against fellow mid-major programs – overcoming in-state foes Middle Tennessee and East Tennessee State in recent games – but Davidson alone proved too much to handle.

The top freshman of her recruiting class, according to ESPN, swerved up and down the court, attacking the boards as if she were a center. Full effort on every possession has been Davidson’s calling card, and it was on full display. USC outrebounded Tennessee Tech 49-38, while Davidson also contributed two blocked shots to the Trojans’ team tally of 15 (the Golden Eagles had none).

USC shot 52.4% from the field, while holding Tennessee Tech to just 21.5%.

Tennessee Tech guards Cam Matthews and Chloe Larry powered the Golden Eagles with a team-high 12 points each.

USC next hosts Pepperdine at the Galen Center on Friday afternoon, a 2 p.m. tip broadcast on Big Ten Plus.