GAMEDAY Womens Basketball

Utah 83, Southern Cal 73

By JOHN COON
Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY - Alissa Pili scored 21 points and Kennedy McQueen added 17 behind five 3-pointers to lead No. 9 Utah to an 83-73 victory over Southern California.

Pili shot 9 of 13 from the floor to pace an efficient offensive attack from the Utes (17-2, 7-2 Pac-12). Gianna Kneepkens added 16 points for Utah, which shot 53% from the field and outscored USC 42-26 in the paint.

Rayah Marshall had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Destiny Littleton also scored 15 points for USC (15-5, 5-4), which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Odako Adika added 12 points on four 3-pointers.

After trailing by as many as 20 in the second half, the Trojans trimmed the deficit to single digits midway through the fourth quarter. Adika and Littleton made back-to-back 3-pointers to cut Utah's lead to 74-68.

The Utes went nearly 10 minutes without scoring a basket before McQueen ended the drought with her fourth 3-pointer.

McQueen's final outside basket put Utah up 83-73 with 52 seconds left.

USC went nearly 8 1/2 minutes in the first half without making a basket. The Trojans missed nine consecutive shots in that stretch before Littleton ended the dry spell with back-to-back baskets.

Utah quickly took advantage of the prolonged drought. Pili capped a 19-4 run with back-to-back layups, giving the Utes a 31-16 lead in the second quarter. The junior forward fueled the lengthy spurt with four field goals.

Utah used a 12-2 run fueled by three baskets from Kneepkens to build its largest lead of the game late in the third quarter. Jenna Johnson capped the run with a layup, putting the Utes ahead 69-49.

BIG PICTURE

USC: An inability to capitalize on defensive stops ultimately hurt the Trojans. USC forced 10 turnovers, but scored only four points on those takeaways.

Utah: The Utes imposed their will around the basket on offense early and it led to a highly efficient shooting performance over the first 2 1/2 quarters.

January 27, 2023