USC’s first shot of the night wedgied on the rim, an ominous sign that would precede a Trojan defeat.
USC lost 56-48 to Oregon State in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament Wednesday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. The No. 6 seed Trojans came up short as the highest ranking they’ve been since their Pac-12 Tournament championship in 2014.
Graduate forward Kadi Sissoko contributed 16 points, and graduate guard Destiny Littleton put up 12 points. Sophomore forward Rayah Marshall had 11 rebounds but fouled out with 1:53 to go in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve been fighting,” Littleton said. “It’s hard to beat a team three times. Oregon State executed their game plan and we didn’t execute ours at all.”
The Trojans let their first half lead slip. USC struggled to find the bucket in the first quarter as the team shot 26.7% from the field. The Beavers had better aim, shooting 38.5%. Still, USC managed to stay ahead 22-21 at the end of the first half.
As the game progressed, the Trojans’ disadvantage started to reveal itself — the offense was not up to speed with the Beavers’ defense. In the third quarter, redshirt sophomore Jelena Mitrovic tied the score up at 26-26 with 7:43 to go.
Sissoko wrapped up the third quarter with two layups after the Trojans’ forced turnovers, allowing USC to lead by three.
This built up to the Trojan’s largest lead of the game at 43-35 in the fourth quarter when junior guard Kayla Williams and graduate guard Okako Adika both hit 3-pointers.
The lead could not save USC from a defensive collapse — a surprising turn of events given the team’s defensive prowess this season. On the offensive end, the Trojans coughed up the ball on their late possessions, allowing the Beavers to build up an 11-0 rally.
“We were pretty undisciplined with our shot selection,” head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “Oregon State had a game plan defensively. It’s not one I haven’t seen before, but we played right into their hands by taking some early not-so-great shots. For the most part, I thought the way we played on offense was not how we practiced this week. And it was unfortunate because you can’t win that way.”
USC was reliant on 3-pointers — nearly 44% of the scoring came from beyond the arc. But the Beavers overpowered the Trojans in every other area, including 19 points from free throws and 13 points off of forced turnovers. On the other hand, USC’s eight free-throw attempts marked a season low.
Without Marshall on the floor for the last two minutes, the Trojans fell apart. With 26 ticks left on the clock, Williams hit a 3-pointer to cut USC’s deficit to two. However, the glimpse of hope did not save the Trojans, as the Beavers hit their free throws and got stops down the stretch to close the game out.
“I wholeheartedly believe that we do have more basketball to go,” Littleton said. “In particular, this game, we were playing like individuals too much of the game and it came back to bite us.”
Looking ahead, the Trojans await the 2023 NCAA tournament bracket reveal, which will be announced March 12.