Friday, January 5
Los Angeles, Calif.
7:00 PM
USC
11-1,1-1Pac-12
56
vs
54
Oregon State
12-1,1-1Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
Oregon St.
15
13
14
12
54
Southern California
11
14
18
13
56
Team Stats
OSU
USC
FG%
.339
.324
3FG%
.250
.375
FT%
.800
.857
RB
41
38
TO
14
5
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Pts
28
FGM
11
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballC/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballPhoto by: Katie Chin
No. 9/6 USC Women’s Basketball Hands Oregon State Its First Loss With 56-54 Win At Galen Center
January 05, 2024 | Women's Basketball
JuJu Watkins and Kayla Padilla combine for 42 points in a comeback win to notch a Pac-12 victory for the Trojans.
LOS ANGELES — The No. 9/6 USC women's basketball team gutted out a great Pac-12 comeback win tonight at Galen Center, trailing at halftime and fighting back to beat visiting Oregon State 56-54 and hand the Beavers their first loss of the season. JuJu Watkins was the driving force for the Trojans, finishing with a game-high 28 points and having manufactured a solo 9-0 run that got USC out of a six-point hole. The win home win improves the Trojans to 11-1 overall and to 1-1 in Pac-12 play, while Oregon State goes to 12-1, 1-1.
In a nail-biter of a second half, USC would end the third quarter on a 7-0 run — all from JuJu Watkins — and took its first lead of the night with a 43-42 advantage into the fourth. Watkins made it a 9-0 run to build a three-point fourth-quarter lead, and although OSU was up 49-48 at the 5-minute mark, USC would get a putback from Rayah Marshall and a fourth straight 3-pointer from Kayla Padilla to go up 56-51 at 2:15. And although the Beavers converted a three-point play 45 seconds later, USC's defense would hold its ground to close out the 56-54 win over visiting Oregon State.
Watkins scored USC's first nine points of the game, but the Beavers would hit at a hotter pace than the Trojans in the first stretch to build a 28-25 Oregon State halftime lead. USC shot 29.4 percent from the floor in first half to trail OSU's 33.3 percent, which included five first-half 3-pointers from the visitors. USC had hit two from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes, and led on the boards 21-18. Three more Beaver 3-pointers fell in the second half, while USC found four more from beyond the arc. By the final buzzer, USC had finished out at 32.4 percent from the floor on 22-of-68 shooting. OSU wrapped at 33.9 percent on a 19-of-56 overall effort, and led on the boards 41-38.
USC was led in scoring once again by Watkins' 28 points, along with a career-high five blocks. Padilla scored 14 points for the Trojans, while Rayah Marshall hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds and had five assists. Also with two blocks on the night, Marshall moved up to rank No. 3 all-time at USC in career blocks (191). Oregon State received a team-high 18 points from Talia van Oelhoffen along with 13 points from Donovyn Hunter, with Time Gardiner registering 10 rebounds for the Beavers.
Oregon State jumped out to a 5-0 lead before JuJu Watkins answered for the Trojans with a bucket and a 3-pointer to lock it up. Again, the Beavers moved ahead, and again Watkins went back to work. She registered USC's first nine points of the night as USC trailed it 11-9 at 1:50. McKenzie Forbes joined the USC scoresheet with a basket that made it 13-11 a minute later, although OSU hit two free throws late to end the first quarter leading it 15-11. A Kayla Padilla 3-pointer gave USC a lift, and after Taylor Bigby nabbed a steal, Watkins got to double digits to get USC one back at 17-16 with 7:10 on the clock. Rayah Marshall got USC its first lead of the game with a putback, then added the back end of a trip to the free-throw line to make it an 8-0 USC rally, and the Trojans were up 19-17 at 5:02. Another Beaver 3-pointer drained next, however, and OSU was back on top 20-19 with 4:35 on the clock. That three sparked an answering 8-0 run by the Beavers to build back a six-point advantage. Kayla Williams broke up that run, and Watkins struck again to make it a two-point game before the two-minute mark, and OSU would wind up with a 28-25 lead for halftime.
Padilla knotted things up out of the gates with an opening 3-pointer for the Trojan cause, USC would force ties at 30-30 and 34-34. OSU nailed its seventh 3-pointer of the game and converted a three-point play around a Padilla bucket to nudge ahead 42-36 with 3:30 to go in the third. Off a Roxane Makolo steal, Watkins would convert a three-point play for the Trojans, making it 42-39. The freshman would pick off a pass herself next and got back to the stripe, finishing off a successful trip to get USC one back again, down 42-41 entering the final minute of the third. Watkins, again, turned a Beaver turnover into USC points, striking in the paint to get the Trojans on top 43-42, and then the USC defense forced a shot clock violation out of OSU to carry a lead into the fourth frame.
Watkins made it a 9-0 run all her own with a strike to start the fourth, punching USC to its largest lead of the game, up 45-42 just 15 seconds into the fourth. OSU stole back the lead a couple minutes later, only to see Forbes and Padilla bury threes around a Beaver bucket to craft a 51-49 USC advantage with 4:20 remaining. With 3:45 on the clock, the score snarled up again at 51-51 on a Beaver basket before a Marshall putback was followed by a key three from Padilla, netting a 56-51 USC lead at 2:15. At 1:34, OSU converted a three-point play, making it a two-point game. In a wild run to the final buzzer, USC's defense was able to fend off the Beavers, emerging with a hard-fought 56-54 comeback win.
NEXT:
USC continues this early Pac-12 stretch with a Sunday (Jan. 7) tilt against Oregon at 12 p.m. at Galen Center.
NOTABLE:
- USC has now won 15 straight home games
- With 28 points, FR JuJu Watkins has led USC in scoring in every game she's played this season.
- With five blocks, Watkins blocks set a new career high.
- With a game-high 14 rebounds, JR Rayah Marshall recorded her fourth straight game with double-digit rebounds and seventh of the season.
- With two blocks, Marshall took over as USC's No. 3 all-time shot blocker, now with 191 career blocks.
- Marshall's five assists tied her career high.
- With four 3-pointers made tonight, GS Kayla Padilla matched her season high
- USC has its best start through 12 games since 2015-16 (started 12-0 that season)
- USC's five turnovers tonight were the fewest in a game since 2017 (two vs. Montana St on 11/10/2017)
- USC trailed at halftime (28-25) for just the second time this season, giving USC its first win when having trailed at half.
- USC's 25 points at halftime was its lowest first-half scoring total this season.
- Oregon State's eight made 3-pointers matched the most allowed by USC this season.
- USC shot a season-low 32.3 percent from the floor and scored a season-low 56 points tonight.
- USC took a season-low seven free throws (6-of-7).
In a nail-biter of a second half, USC would end the third quarter on a 7-0 run — all from JuJu Watkins — and took its first lead of the night with a 43-42 advantage into the fourth. Watkins made it a 9-0 run to build a three-point fourth-quarter lead, and although OSU was up 49-48 at the 5-minute mark, USC would get a putback from Rayah Marshall and a fourth straight 3-pointer from Kayla Padilla to go up 56-51 at 2:15. And although the Beavers converted a three-point play 45 seconds later, USC's defense would hold its ground to close out the 56-54 win over visiting Oregon State.
Watkins scored USC's first nine points of the game, but the Beavers would hit at a hotter pace than the Trojans in the first stretch to build a 28-25 Oregon State halftime lead. USC shot 29.4 percent from the floor in first half to trail OSU's 33.3 percent, which included five first-half 3-pointers from the visitors. USC had hit two from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes, and led on the boards 21-18. Three more Beaver 3-pointers fell in the second half, while USC found four more from beyond the arc. By the final buzzer, USC had finished out at 32.4 percent from the floor on 22-of-68 shooting. OSU wrapped at 33.9 percent on a 19-of-56 overall effort, and led on the boards 41-38.
USC was led in scoring once again by Watkins' 28 points, along with a career-high five blocks. Padilla scored 14 points for the Trojans, while Rayah Marshall hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds and had five assists. Also with two blocks on the night, Marshall moved up to rank No. 3 all-time at USC in career blocks (191). Oregon State received a team-high 18 points from Talia van Oelhoffen along with 13 points from Donovyn Hunter, with Time Gardiner registering 10 rebounds for the Beavers.
Oregon State jumped out to a 5-0 lead before JuJu Watkins answered for the Trojans with a bucket and a 3-pointer to lock it up. Again, the Beavers moved ahead, and again Watkins went back to work. She registered USC's first nine points of the night as USC trailed it 11-9 at 1:50. McKenzie Forbes joined the USC scoresheet with a basket that made it 13-11 a minute later, although OSU hit two free throws late to end the first quarter leading it 15-11. A Kayla Padilla 3-pointer gave USC a lift, and after Taylor Bigby nabbed a steal, Watkins got to double digits to get USC one back at 17-16 with 7:10 on the clock. Rayah Marshall got USC its first lead of the game with a putback, then added the back end of a trip to the free-throw line to make it an 8-0 USC rally, and the Trojans were up 19-17 at 5:02. Another Beaver 3-pointer drained next, however, and OSU was back on top 20-19 with 4:35 on the clock. That three sparked an answering 8-0 run by the Beavers to build back a six-point advantage. Kayla Williams broke up that run, and Watkins struck again to make it a two-point game before the two-minute mark, and OSU would wind up with a 28-25 lead for halftime.
Padilla knotted things up out of the gates with an opening 3-pointer for the Trojan cause, USC would force ties at 30-30 and 34-34. OSU nailed its seventh 3-pointer of the game and converted a three-point play around a Padilla bucket to nudge ahead 42-36 with 3:30 to go in the third. Off a Roxane Makolo steal, Watkins would convert a three-point play for the Trojans, making it 42-39. The freshman would pick off a pass herself next and got back to the stripe, finishing off a successful trip to get USC one back again, down 42-41 entering the final minute of the third. Watkins, again, turned a Beaver turnover into USC points, striking in the paint to get the Trojans on top 43-42, and then the USC defense forced a shot clock violation out of OSU to carry a lead into the fourth frame.
Watkins made it a 9-0 run all her own with a strike to start the fourth, punching USC to its largest lead of the game, up 45-42 just 15 seconds into the fourth. OSU stole back the lead a couple minutes later, only to see Forbes and Padilla bury threes around a Beaver bucket to craft a 51-49 USC advantage with 4:20 remaining. With 3:45 on the clock, the score snarled up again at 51-51 on a Beaver basket before a Marshall putback was followed by a key three from Padilla, netting a 56-51 USC lead at 2:15. At 1:34, OSU converted a three-point play, making it a two-point game. In a wild run to the final buzzer, USC's defense was able to fend off the Beavers, emerging with a hard-fought 56-54 comeback win.
NEXT:
USC continues this early Pac-12 stretch with a Sunday (Jan. 7) tilt against Oregon at 12 p.m. at Galen Center.
NOTABLE:
- USC has now won 15 straight home games
- With 28 points, FR JuJu Watkins has led USC in scoring in every game she's played this season.
- With five blocks, Watkins blocks set a new career high.
- With a game-high 14 rebounds, JR Rayah Marshall recorded her fourth straight game with double-digit rebounds and seventh of the season.
- With two blocks, Marshall took over as USC's No. 3 all-time shot blocker, now with 191 career blocks.
- Marshall's five assists tied her career high.
- With four 3-pointers made tonight, GS Kayla Padilla matched her season high
- USC has its best start through 12 games since 2015-16 (started 12-0 that season)
- USC's five turnovers tonight were the fewest in a game since 2017 (two vs. Montana St on 11/10/2017)
- USC trailed at halftime (28-25) for just the second time this season, giving USC its first win when having trailed at half.
- USC's 25 points at halftime was its lowest first-half scoring total this season.
- Oregon State's eight made 3-pointers matched the most allowed by USC this season.
- USC shot a season-low 32.3 percent from the floor and scored a season-low 56 points tonight.
- USC took a season-low seven free throws (6-of-7).
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
