USC
12-10, 6-5
Washington
12-9, 4-7
USC Women Let One Slip In Loss To Washington
February 05, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2012
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The USC women's basketball team went cold at the wrong time today and wound up with a 67-61 loss to visiting Washington for the Trojans' first loss to the Huskies in Los Angeles since 2006. USC had four players finish in doubles figures, including a double-double from Cassie Harberts, but the Huskies made their push when it counted as Jazmine Davis served up 26 points and Mollie Williams hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 31 seconds to get the win for Washington. USC goes to 12-10 overall and 6-5 in Pac-12 play with the loss, and Washington improves to 12-9, 4-7.
USC had strong starts to both halves, leading by nine during both frames, but a second-half scoring slump spelled doom for the Women of Troy. USC finished the game shooting 36 percent from the floor after going just 24 percent in the second half. Washington finished at a 37 percent clip, and was 22-of-27 from the free-throw line to USC's 6-of-10 effort from the stripe.
Ashley Corral and Jazmine Davis each knocked down five 3-pointers for their respective teams, with Corral leading USC with 19 points on the day and Davis finishing with her game-high 26. USC's Cassie Harberts had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, only to have Mollie Williams counter with 14 points and 11 boards. USC finished ahead 39-38 in the rebounding column. The Trojans also had Desiree Bradley hit a career-high 10 points to go with 10 from Briana Gilbreath. Washington also had Regina Rogers in double figures with 13 points.
USC opened up a 9-0 lead on the Huskies, who went 0-for-6 from the floor to start the first five minutes of play. Washington caught up and even took a trim lead on two occasions thanks in large part to four 3-pointers nailed by Jazmine Davis in the half. USC countered with a more balanced attack, with Cassie Harberts holding 10 to lead seven USC scorers in the first half to help USC to a 37-34 lead at halftime.
It took under five minutes for Ashley Corral to catch Davis' 3-point tally in the second half, as she hit back-to-back threes to get her tally to four in the game and put USC ahead 45-38 with 15:26 on the clock. A slick Corral assist to a high-flying Briana Gilbreath would take the Trojans to a 47-38 lead to match their opening advantage in the game. But USC was hurt by four turnovers in four minutes as Washington made a 15-2 run on the Trojans, taking its first lead since the first half while USC was in the midst of over eight minutes of scoring silence from the floor, with just two free throws falling for the Trojans while Washington made its run. Corral slipped in four straight points, including a runner with 1:20 remaining to cut it to one, only to have Washington's Regina Rogers hit two free throws to make it a three-point Husky advantage in the final minute. Free throws took the Huskies farther out of reach, despite last-gasp threes knocked down by Corral and Gilbreath in the final 15 seconds, and Washingtin had a 67-61 win over USC in the books
USC's next competition takes the Trojans to the Bay Area for two more televised games on FSN. USC visits Stanford on Thursday (Feb. 9) for a 6 p.m. clash, and then goes to Berkeley to take on Cal at 8 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 11).
