With 16 seconds left in overtime on Friday at Gill Coliseum, the game was tied at 61, and Oregon State had the ball with a chance to win despite trailing USC for most of the night. When USC freshman forward Rayah Marshall came down with the ball after blocking redshirt senior Ellie Mack’s jumper, it looked like the game would go to double overtime. The Trojans were still alive.
But within seconds — literally, two seconds — the ball was stolen by sophomore forward Kennedy Brown, who banked in a layup at the buzzer to send the crowd into a frenzy as Oregon State celebrated its come-from-behind 63-61 victory.
The loss was a tough one for USC, not just because of the manner in which it happened, but because a win would have given the Trojans a much-needed change in momentum after losing three of their last four games.
Despite the outcome, acting head coach Danyelle Grant, who subbed in for Lindsay Gottlieb due to COVID-19 protocols, was not disappointed in the team’s performance.
“I’m proud of them,” Grant said. “All we ask is that they put their best effort out there, and they did. No one expected us to be in this game, and we were. We took a really good Oregon State team into overtime. So all we can do is follow this up and build on it.”
The Trojans got off to a solid start, shooting 59% in the first quarter to take a 22-18 lead. Both teams struggled in the second, with USC outscoring Oregon State 8-6.
The momentum began to shift after halftime. In the first half, the Trojans moved the ball around effectively and all nine USC players scored. USC had just one turnover at the half. However, Oregon State transitioned to playing zone defense in the second half, and the Trojans struggled mightily, coughing up 11 turnovers and allowing the Beavers to come back late.
“The zone slowed us down quite a bit,” Grant said. “We missed a couple opportunities to drive and try to collapse the zone a little bit, and that really hurt us and slowed us down a bit and we didn’t recover well. We kept scrapping and fighting and clawing, and we weren’t getting the clean looks we were getting in the first half.”
The star of the Beavers’ comeback effort was freshman guard Talia von Oelhoffen, who had 31 points, 21 of which came after halftime. Von Oelhoffen was perfect from the free-throw line and shot 5-for-10 from deep.
The Trojans also had some stellar individual performances, including double-doubles from Marshall and graduate forward Jordan Sanders. Sanders, who returned to the starting lineup Friday after missing five games due to injury, has posted double-digit scoring efforts in eight straight games.
Grant had praise for Marshall’s performance after the game.
“She’s a really young talent and she hasn’t even scratched the surface,” Grant said. “She just was able to be comfortable out there in space, comfortable just using her athleticism and ability to score, and she protects the rim very, very well.”
USC was missing two of its typical starters in junior forward Alissa Pili and graduate guard Tera Reed due to injury. Grant said their status is “day-to-day.”
USC now sits at 9-8 on the season and 2-5 in conference play. The Trojans go on to face one of their toughest tests of the season: a road matchup with No. 19 Oregon. The Ducks are riding a five-game win streak and have had an extra couple of days to prepare after their Friday matchup with UCLA was postponed.