USC
17-8, 5-8
Washington
17-7, 8-5
USC Women Wind Up Short Of Washington 61-53
February 12, 2016 | Women's Basketball
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The USC women's basketball team put up a fierce fight in the final stages of tonight's Pac-12 clash against Washington, but the Huskies were able to hold off the charging Trojans. While Kristen Simon continued to add to her historic rebounds count, USC landed rare 3-pointers from Alexis Lloyd and Temi Fagbenle as USC carved the deficit down to four points in the final minute. Washington made good from the free-throw line, though, and fended off the Women of Troy for a final 61-53 victory over host USC tonight at Galen Center. USC goes to 17-8 overall and to 5-8 in Pac-12 play, while Washington improves to 17-7, 8-5.
USC committed 10 first-half turnovers but was hitting the boards hard, thanks in large part to a career-high 14 rebounds from Kristen Simon in the first half alone. Still, USC's 27-percent shooting effort trailed Washington's 31 percent, leaving the Trojans behind the Huskies 24-19 by halftime. Foul trouble for USC's Temi Fagbenle also served to stymie the Trojans' progress, with USC's top scorer saddled with two early fouls and tagged with her fourth early in the third quarter. USC would fall behind by 18 midway through the fourth before finding a spark and cutting the deficit down to single digits, only to see Washington hold strong from the stripe to close out the win.
USC finished out the game shooting 34 percent from the floor to Washington's 36 percent. USC drained eight 3-pointers — five from Courtney Jaco to give her 56 this season — while the Huskies hit six. USC won out on the boards 39-37 led by Kristen Simon's incredible 21-rebound night. That outing marks the fourth most rebounds ever collected by a Trojan, putting the sophomore just a step behind the efforts of Trojan greats Cheryl Miller and Lisa Leslie. Still, the Huskies won the day in part by forcing 16 Trojan turnovers and netting 15-of-18 free throws. USC interrupted Washington for 13 Husky turnovers, but was sent to the line barely a handful of times, going 5-of-8 from the line in this one.
USC was led in scoring by Jaco's 17 points, getting 12 from Fagbenle and 10 from Sadie Edwards while Simon controlled the boards to the tune of 21 rebounds. Washington got a game-high 20 points from Kelsey Plum along with 16 from Katie Collier and 13 from Talia Walton, with Chantel Osahor grabbing 16 rebounds for the Huskies.
A pair of 3-poitners from Courtney Jaco helped keep the Trojans afloat in the first quarter. USC hit a six-minute scoring slump while Washington worked ahead 11-3 after answering Jaco's opening three with an 11-0 surge. The Trojans would trim the deficit down to three by the close of the first, and then had it at a one-point margin when Alexis Lloyd delivered the first points of the second quarter for USC. Turnovers would interrupt the Trojans' process in the second, but a couple buckets from Kristen Simon — who had a career-high 14 rebounds in the first half alone — helped give USC a lift on the offensive end as the Trojans would trail the Huskies 24-19 at the break.
Washington would punch up a quick 6-0 strike against the Trojans to open the seconds half before Jaco dropped a third 3-pointer to make it 30-22 two minutes into the third. That would be as close as USC would get in that frame, though. Washington's Kelsey Plum would drum up her 20th points of the night with a 3-pointer that wrapped the third quarter as a 48-33 Husky lead. Both teams went quiet for the first four minutes of the third before Washington drained a three to go up 51-33. USC's sure-handed Jaco responded and nailed her fifth 3-pointer of the night. That seemed to spark the Trojans. Fagbenle followed with a bucket, Sadie Edwards knocked down a three of her own, and Jaco added a jumper to cut the deficit down to 51-43 on USC's 10-0 surge. Washington fired back with two scores, only to see USC's Lloyd drill a three for the Trojans, making it 55-46 with 2 minutes to go. USC continued to crank up the pressure, getting a bucket from Edwards and Fagbenle's first 3-pointer of the year to carve the hole down to 55-51 with 45 seconds on the clock. Sent to the stripe with 21 seconds left, Washington hit both to edge ahead 57-51. Fagbenle went to the line next with 16 seconds on the clock and buried both to get USC close again, down 57-53. Washington would finish out the game from the free-throw line, however, and closed out a final 61-53 win over the Trojans.
USC now turns to another Pac-12 rematch, hosting Washington State in a 4 p.m. game on Sunday (Feb. 14) at Galen Center. That game will also be a Pink Game for the Women of Troy, who are seeking to raise breast cancer awareness and donations for women's cancer research. Join the Trojans to raise funds for the Kay Yow Foundation at play4kay.org/usctrojans
WASHINGTON 61, USC 53
2/12/16 7 p.m. at Galen Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
WASHINGTON (17-7, 8-5)
Plum, Kelsey 7-17 5-6 22; Collier, Katie 6-10 4-4 16; Walton, Talia 4-12 3-4 13; Atchley, Alexus 2-10 3-4 8; Kingma, Kelli 1-2 0-0 2; Gilling, Mathilde 0-0 0-0 0; Osahor, Chantel 0-4 0-0 0.
Totals 20-55 15-18 61.
USC (17-8, 5-8)
Jaco, Courtney 6-13 0-0 17; Fagbenle, Temi 4-10 3-4 12; Edwards, Sadie 4-14 1-2 10; Lloyd, Alexis 3-7 0-0 7; Simon, Kristen 3-12 0-0 6; Mazyck, Aliyah 0-3 1-2 1; Taito, Khaedin 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 20-59 5-8 53.
Washington.................... 13 11 24 13 - 61
USC........................... 10 9 14 20 - 53
3-point goals--Washington 6-23 (Plum, Kelsey 3-7; Walton, Talia 2-7; Atchley, Alexus 1-6; Osahor, Chantel 0-2; Kingma, Kelli 0-1), USC 8-22 (Jaco, Courtney 5-10; Lloyd, Alexis 1-3; Edwards, Sadie 1-6; Fagbenle, Temi 1-1; Mazyck, Aliyah 0-2). Fouled out--Washington-None, USC-None. Rebounds--Washington 37 (Osahor, Chantel 16), USC 39 (Simon, Kristen 21). Assists--Washington 12 (Plum, Kelsey 3; Atchley, Alexus 3; Osahor, Chantel 3; Walton, Talia 3), USC 9 (Lloyd, Alexis 5). Total fouls--Washington 8, USC 15. Technical fouls--Washington-None, USC-Mazyck, Aliyah. A-565
