USC struggles to score, falls in Big Ten tournament to Washington
INDIANAPOLIS — If USC women’s basketball was hoping to make its case for a favorable NCAA Tournament seed, the Trojans haven’t done themselves any favors over the past two weeks, culminating in Thursday’s Big Ten Tournament loss.
The No. 9 seed Trojans let a second-round tournament against No. 8 seed Washington spiral out of control in the third quarter, stumbling to a 76-64 loss at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. USC’s conference play ended quickly after the Trojans put together one of their worst offensive outings of the season.
It was USC’s fourth straight loss, calling into question its positioning in the NCAA tournament.
USC (17-13, 9-10) didn’t make its first three-pointer until 3:30 of the second quarter, just the Trojans’ fifth field goal of the game overall. The Trojans trailed 32-20 at halftime while shooting just 25%.
Washington (21-9, 11-8) took a 20-point lead late in the third quarter while USC struggled to 1-of-7 shooting during that stretch.
USC managed a 10-point game with 1:51 left as the Trojans’ aggressive half-court press forced Washington turnovers, but even the team’s 26-point fourth quarter couldn’t save it.
The Huskies and Trojans entered Thursday with the third and fourth best defenses in the conference, respectively. That didn’t deter Washington’s offense, which shot 50 percent, its fourth-best effort of the season.
But USC was deadlocked and recorded its fourth-worst shooting of the year at 31 percent. Big Ten point guard and freshman Jazzy Davidson shot 2 of 13 after briefly leaving the game in the first quarter with a right shoulder injury and playing the rest of the contest with it wrapped up under her jersey. She did not see the field again after 7:12 of the fourth quarter.
Davidson said that after the loss, she had an MRI on her shoulder to determine the extent of the injury.
Washington topped USC 43-26. Huskies guard Elle Ladine led the game with 25 points. Londynn Jones scored 19 for the Trojans.
USC entered Thursday ranked No. 22 in the nation’s NET rankings and will likely earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid, but Thursday’s loss put a strong seed in jeopardy.
The Huskies will face No. 1 seed UCLA (28-1, 18-0) in the quarterfinals Friday at 9 a.m.
