Friday, January 19
Salt Lake City, Utah
6:00 PM
USC
13-2,3-2Pac-12
58
at
78
Utah
13-5,3-3Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
Southern California
12
16
16
14
58
Utah
19
18
24
17
78
Team Stats
USC
Utah
FG%
.361
.441
3FG%
.280
.323
FT%
.500
.727
RB
34
43
TO
17
15
STL
12
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
11
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballPhoto by: Chris Mora
No. 6/4 USC Women’s Basketball Falls To No. 20 Utah On The Road
January 19, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Trojans take a 78-58 loss to the Utes in Salt Lake City.
SALT LAKE CITY — The No. 6/4 USC women's basketball team came up against a hot-handed and determined No. 20 Utah squad tonight in Salt Lake City, falling 78-58 to the Utes. USC is now 13-2 overall and 3-2 in Pac-12 play, while Utah improves to 13-5, 3-3.
Utah landed six 3-pointers in the first half and was handling things on the boards to keep USC from getting too close as the Utes gripped a 37-28 lead at the break. Utah shot 39.4 percent from the floor in the opening half to outpace USC's 34.3 effort in those first 20 minutes. Utah was up 27-19 on the rebounding front. USC made a 10-2 run early in third to get within three points, only to see the Utes blast off and cap that frame on a 14-2 run. The trend continued from there, and Utah closed down the game with 10 made threes while shooting 44.1 percent overall and leading on the boards 43-34. USC made seven 3-pointers and shot 36.1 percent overall. The Utes also capitalized on 17 USC turnovers to tally 27 points off those Trojan giveaways. Utah also outscored USC in the paint 30-14.
USC was led once again by JuJu Watkins, who tallied 26 points for the Trojans and was joined in double digits by McKenzie Forbes' 11 points. Utah received 37 points from Alissa Pili, who hit five 3-pointers, along with 12 points from Maty Wilke.
It was tough sledding for both teams out of the gates with tough defense on each end. Kayla Padilla nailed a Trojan three and JuJu Watkins struck on a jumper to get one back at 6-5 before Utah busted out back-to-back 3-pointers to work out to a 12-5 lead six minutes into the action. Watkins broke four minutes of scoring silence by USC with a strong take to the hoop at 3:05 and knocked another shot down a minute later to make it 13-9. She'd have the last word of the first for the Trojans, but Utah had connected on a couple more buckets as well hitting two free throws down the stretch to lead it 19-12 after 10 minutes of play. USC worked to carve down the lead in the opening stages of the second, only to see Utah land some key threes and build out a 30-20 lead midway through the frame. A three from Taylor Bigby was followed by another strike from Watkins to get the margin to seven with 2:30 left in the half. A long one from McKenzie Forbes tugged the Trojans within six, only to see Utah's fourth 3-pointer of the frame fall to net a 37-28 lead for the hosts at the half.
USC had a hot start to the third in crafting a 7-0 run sparked by a score and a three from Watkins. Bigby landed her second three of the night at 7:35, and USC was within three at a 41-38 deficit. As Watkins crossed the 20-point mark, Utah responded with a 7-0 run of its own to lead it 54-42 with 3:20 on the clock. Clarice Akunwafo slipped in a putback to snap the streak, but the Utes responded with another 7-0 surge to put the Trojans in a 61-44 hole entering the fourth. Try as they might, USC could not rein in the Utes, who got a fifth 3-pointer from Pili to dash any hopes of a Trojan comeback and stake Utah to a 78-58 final victory.
NEXT:
USC continues on its first out-of-state Pac-12 adventure with a trip to Boulder to take on No. 3 Colorado at 12 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 21).
NOTABLE:
- USC is now 2-2 against ranked opponents this season.
- With 26 points, FR JuJu Watkins has led USC in scoring in every game she's played this season (14 games).
- RS SO Dominique Darius tied her career high of two steals.
- Also with two steals each, GS Roxane Makolo and Kaitlyn Davis had season highs.
- USC trailed at halftime (37-28) for just the third time this season.
Utah landed six 3-pointers in the first half and was handling things on the boards to keep USC from getting too close as the Utes gripped a 37-28 lead at the break. Utah shot 39.4 percent from the floor in the opening half to outpace USC's 34.3 effort in those first 20 minutes. Utah was up 27-19 on the rebounding front. USC made a 10-2 run early in third to get within three points, only to see the Utes blast off and cap that frame on a 14-2 run. The trend continued from there, and Utah closed down the game with 10 made threes while shooting 44.1 percent overall and leading on the boards 43-34. USC made seven 3-pointers and shot 36.1 percent overall. The Utes also capitalized on 17 USC turnovers to tally 27 points off those Trojan giveaways. Utah also outscored USC in the paint 30-14.
USC was led once again by JuJu Watkins, who tallied 26 points for the Trojans and was joined in double digits by McKenzie Forbes' 11 points. Utah received 37 points from Alissa Pili, who hit five 3-pointers, along with 12 points from Maty Wilke.
It was tough sledding for both teams out of the gates with tough defense on each end. Kayla Padilla nailed a Trojan three and JuJu Watkins struck on a jumper to get one back at 6-5 before Utah busted out back-to-back 3-pointers to work out to a 12-5 lead six minutes into the action. Watkins broke four minutes of scoring silence by USC with a strong take to the hoop at 3:05 and knocked another shot down a minute later to make it 13-9. She'd have the last word of the first for the Trojans, but Utah had connected on a couple more buckets as well hitting two free throws down the stretch to lead it 19-12 after 10 minutes of play. USC worked to carve down the lead in the opening stages of the second, only to see Utah land some key threes and build out a 30-20 lead midway through the frame. A three from Taylor Bigby was followed by another strike from Watkins to get the margin to seven with 2:30 left in the half. A long one from McKenzie Forbes tugged the Trojans within six, only to see Utah's fourth 3-pointer of the frame fall to net a 37-28 lead for the hosts at the half.
USC had a hot start to the third in crafting a 7-0 run sparked by a score and a three from Watkins. Bigby landed her second three of the night at 7:35, and USC was within three at a 41-38 deficit. As Watkins crossed the 20-point mark, Utah responded with a 7-0 run of its own to lead it 54-42 with 3:20 on the clock. Clarice Akunwafo slipped in a putback to snap the streak, but the Utes responded with another 7-0 surge to put the Trojans in a 61-44 hole entering the fourth. Try as they might, USC could not rein in the Utes, who got a fifth 3-pointer from Pili to dash any hopes of a Trojan comeback and stake Utah to a 78-58 final victory.
NEXT:
USC continues on its first out-of-state Pac-12 adventure with a trip to Boulder to take on No. 3 Colorado at 12 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 21).
NOTABLE:
- USC is now 2-2 against ranked opponents this season.
- With 26 points, FR JuJu Watkins has led USC in scoring in every game she's played this season (14 games).
- RS SO Dominique Darius tied her career high of two steals.
- Also with two steals each, GS Roxane Makolo and Kaitlyn Davis had season highs.
- USC trailed at halftime (37-28) for just the third time this season.
Women's Basketball Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb Media Availability 9/18/25
Thursday, September 18
USC WBB's Lindsay Gottlieb, Rayah Marshall and Talia von Oelhoffen | Trojan Press Conference
Monday, March 31
USC WBB heads to the Elite 8, defeats Kansas State in Sweet 16 | Rapid Reaction
Saturday, March 29
Kennedy Smith on USC WBB heading to the Elite Eight, Trojan freshmen getting the job done
Saturday, March 29
