Sunday, January 14
Los Angeles, CA
2:00 PM
UCLA
14-1,3-1Pac-12
65
at
73
USC
13-1,3-1Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
UCLA
8
11
23
23
65
Southern California
15
19
17
22
73
No. 2 UCLA Falls at No. 9 USC, 73-65
January 14, 2024 | Women's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ The No. 2 UCLA women's basketball team fell to No. 9 USC 73-65 on Sunday afternoon in front of a sold-outย crowd at the Galen Center. The loss was UCLA's first of the season. ย
After initially trailing by 13 points midway through the fourth quarter, UCLA (14-1, 3-1 Pac-12) cut the lead to four, 63-59, courtesy of a Londynn Jones 3-pointer with 2:32 to play. However, JuJu Watkins hit a mid-range jumper on the following USC (13-1, 3-1 Pac-12) possession to re-establish momentum, giving the Trojans a 65-59 lead.
The Bruins continued to fight in the final few minutes as Rice made a free-throw, and Jones finished on a fastbreak opportunity to cut USC's lead to five, 67-62, with 1:04 left. However, the Trojans made their free throws in the final minute to hold on to win, 73-65.
Charisma Osborne led the Bruins with 25 points on 8-for-18 shooting from the field, and was 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Lauren Betts (10 points, 3 rebounds) and Gabriela Jaquez (10 points, seven rebounds) also finished in double figures.
Watkins led all scorers on Sunday. The freshman finished with 32 points, and was perfect from the foul line going 16-for-16. McKenzie Forbes (18 points) and Kayla Padilla (13 points) also finished in double figures for USC.
Both teams struggled from the floor in the first quarter as the two squads combined to shoot 7-for-30 from the field. However, USC made their last two 3-pointers of the quarter to take a 15-8 lead to end the quarter. ย
The Trojans got hot in the second quarter, capitalizing off of the 10 UCLA turnovers in the quarter to stretch their lead to 15, 34-19. Watkins scored a team-high 10 points in the quarter for USC.
UCLA came out strongly in the second half of play, rattling off six points early on in the third quarter to make it a nine-point USC lead. After Betts was intentionally fouled down low, Osborne made the ensuing foul shots before Kiki Rice added a basket right after the foul shots. Osborne then nailed two more foul shots to cut the lead to nine, 34-25, with 7:44 remaining in the third quarter.
The two squads traded baskets for the remainder of the period as the Bruins tried to chip away at the Trojans' advantage but still trailed by nine, 51-42, at the end of the third quarter. For the quarter, Osborne tallied 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting and made seven free throws.
In the fourth, USC added on, taking a 13-point lead, 63-50, with 5:04 remaining before the Bruins went on their run to try and close the gap. Despite a furious comeback bid in the final few minutes, the Bruins fell short on Sunday, falling 73-65.
Up Next: The Bruins hit the road for two big conference matchups next week. UCLA will take on No. 5 Colorado on Friday in Boulder at 5 p.m. PT. UCLA will then play at No. 19 Utah on Monday, January 22 at 4 p.m. PT. ย ย
ย
After initially trailing by 13 points midway through the fourth quarter, UCLA (14-1, 3-1 Pac-12) cut the lead to four, 63-59, courtesy of a Londynn Jones 3-pointer with 2:32 to play. However, JuJu Watkins hit a mid-range jumper on the following USC (13-1, 3-1 Pac-12) possession to re-establish momentum, giving the Trojans a 65-59 lead.
The Bruins continued to fight in the final few minutes as Rice made a free-throw, and Jones finished on a fastbreak opportunity to cut USC's lead to five, 67-62, with 1:04 left. However, the Trojans made their free throws in the final minute to hold on to win, 73-65.
Charisma Osborne led the Bruins with 25 points on 8-for-18 shooting from the field, and was 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Lauren Betts (10 points, 3 rebounds) and Gabriela Jaquez (10 points, seven rebounds) also finished in double figures.
Watkins led all scorers on Sunday. The freshman finished with 32 points, and was perfect from the foul line going 16-for-16. McKenzie Forbes (18 points) and Kayla Padilla (13 points) also finished in double figures for USC.
Both teams struggled from the floor in the first quarter as the two squads combined to shoot 7-for-30 from the field. However, USC made their last two 3-pointers of the quarter to take a 15-8 lead to end the quarter. ย
The Trojans got hot in the second quarter, capitalizing off of the 10 UCLA turnovers in the quarter to stretch their lead to 15, 34-19. Watkins scored a team-high 10 points in the quarter for USC.
UCLA came out strongly in the second half of play, rattling off six points early on in the third quarter to make it a nine-point USC lead. After Betts was intentionally fouled down low, Osborne made the ensuing foul shots before Kiki Rice added a basket right after the foul shots. Osborne then nailed two more foul shots to cut the lead to nine, 34-25, with 7:44 remaining in the third quarter.
The two squads traded baskets for the remainder of the period as the Bruins tried to chip away at the Trojans' advantage but still trailed by nine, 51-42, at the end of the third quarter. For the quarter, Osborne tallied 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting and made seven free throws.
In the fourth, USC added on, taking a 13-point lead, 63-50, with 5:04 remaining before the Bruins went on their run to try and close the gap. Despite a furious comeback bid in the final few minutes, the Bruins fell short on Sunday, falling 73-65.
Up Next: The Bruins hit the road for two big conference matchups next week. UCLA will take on No. 5 Colorado on Friday in Boulder at 5 p.m. PT. UCLA will then play at No. 19 Utah on Monday, January 22 at 4 p.m. PT. ย ย
ย
Team Stats
UCLA
USC
FG%
.400
.415
3FG%
.182
.294
FT%
.810
.750
RB
34
33
TO
22
17
STL
11
12
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's BasketballG
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