Early in the first quarter, the Washington Huskies had a dramatic sequence of 4 consecutive possessions without a basket — a shot blocked by USC sophomore forward Rayah Marshall, a shot-clock violation, a travel and a bad-pass turnover. Little did the Huskies know, that stretch was going to end up being a microcosm for much of the game to come.
With the help of 18 Washington turnovers, the Trojans took care of the Huskies 47-43 at Galen Center Thursday night and gave themselves a crucial resume boost with just one game left in the regular season.
“We have a lot of season left,” Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “But, from where this program has been and even where we were at this point last year, I’m really proud of this group earning 20 wins.”
The win didn’t come easy for USC, especially down the stretch. With the Trojans ahead 44-38 and 12 seconds left, Washington freshman guard Hannah Stines made a layup. On the ensuing possession, graduate guard Destiny Littleton caught the inbound pass and was wrestled to the baseline; she then stepped out of bounds and turned the ball back over to the Huskies.
The Huskies continued to fight and came close to stealing a win right out from under the Trojans. Freshman guard Elle Ladine swished home a 3-pointer to cut USC’s lead down to just 1. The Trojans tightened up on offense in the closing seconds and held on to win by 4.
“It wasn’t easy for either of us,” Gottlieb said. “It wasn’t pretty. I said this game doesn’t belong in the Louvre.”
Until late, it was a defensive slugfest with neither team breaking through much at all. USC allowed just 2 points in the first quarter, the least the Trojans have given up in a quarter all year.
Part of what prevented Washington from scoring was its own turnover issues, but the other factor was USC’s shot-blocking at the rim. The Trojans had 11 blocks, 6 of which were by Marshall — the No. 3 player in the nation in blocks per game.
Eleven of Washington’s turnovers came in the first half, due in large part to USC’s defensive pressure. With the Trojans’ offense sputtering, the team focused on forcing turnovers to give the team more chances at scoring.
“We knew that it was getting ugly, and we knew that possessions mattered,” Littleton said. “So if we could take possessions from them, it would help us.”
Eventually, Washington found a way to score with USC. In the fourth quarter, the Huskies shot 53% from the field and went 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Washington even outscored USC 21-19 in the fourth — and 41-36 in the last three quarters. But it was still too little, too late.
Even in performances like this game — when offense appears optional at times — the team takes pride in grinding out the ugly win.
“At some point you surrender your vision of it’s supposed to be this way or that way, and I’m just going to get it done,” Gottlieb said. “When it’s not pretty, you at least want to be the toughest.”
The win brings USC to 20-8 on the season and 10-7 in Pac-12 play. Beating Washington — another team on the edge of the NCAA tournament bubble — could be what solidifies USC’s spot in the Big Dance. But ask Gottlieb, and she’s already looking forward to where this team will be in two weeks’ time.
“It means a lot to me that they’re going to get to experience the NCAA tournament,” Gottlieb said. “We still have more work to do, but these are the things that — it’s why you do it.”
It also marks the Trojans’ 14th home win of the season, the most home wins in a season for the program since at least 1994.
“There’s an energy in here,” Gottlieb said. “Our players feel pride in playing for our home crowd.”
The Trojans will close out the regular season against Washington State on Saturday at noon. It’s a game that will mean a lot to the six seniors and graduate students who may be playing their last game of college basketball.
“I transferred three times, and it’s my first time actually feeling like I belong somewhere,” the game’s leading scorer with 19 points, graduate forward Kadi Sissoko, said. “Every day I feel grateful to be here and have this team.