USC upends Colorado in Pac-12 Tournament opener


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Pac-12 Freshman of the Year forward Alissa Pili put up 22 points on an efficient 10-of-16 shooting in the win against Colorado Thursday night, helping the Trojans advance to a Friday quarterfinal showdown against UCLA. (Ling Luo | Daily Trojan)

The USC women’s basketball team emerged victorious in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament Thursday, defeating Colorado by a score of 69-54. The win is USC’s second victory over the Buffs in less than a week and advances the Trojans to the second round of the tournament. 

“I was really happy with the effort tonight,” head coach Mark Trakh said after the game. “There were two good teams, it was a battle up and down, but [I’m] just happy with the way our kids performed.” 

USC was led by a dominant duo of forwards in freshman Alissa Pili and senior Kayla Overbeck, who impressed all night for the Trojans.

In what will be one of her last games in the cardinal and gold, Overbeck’s physicality was on full display. The senior finished the evening without missing a single field goal attempt, racking up 10 points along with eight hard-fought rebounds while making life extremely difficult for Colorado’s bigs on the low block. 

Overbeck said USC’s recent run of success comes as no surprise to the team.

“The poise that you see is the poise that we’ve built since before September,” Overbeck said. “You know, playing together and really trusting each other in key moments.”

Pili, who was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year earlier this week, continued her dominance by leading her team with 22 points on top of five rebounds. Pili also recorded a block and a steal on the defensive end. 

The Trojans also received assistance from graduate guard Aliyah Jeune, who returned to action for the first time since Feb. 14 after being sidelined with a knee injury. 

USC started the first quarter strong with an 8-0 run that helped push its lead as high as 10 with less than three minutes to go in the quarter. USC finished the period with a solid 7-point lead before a strong second quarter run by the Buffaloes evened things up at 32 apiece heading into the second half.

After squandering the lead, USC was once again on its heels, withstanding a barrage of baskets on the inside from Colorado sophomore forward Peanut Tuitele, who finished the evening with 18 points and seven rebounds.

Toward the end of the third quarter, USC freshman guard Endyia Rogers showed off some impressive court vision to find freshman guard Alyson Miura in the corner for a pair of quick succession threes that provided USC a precarious 3-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

Freshman guard Alyson Miura drilled three 3-pointers against Colorado, all of which came in the second half. (Ling Luo | Daily Trojan)

Fortunately for USC, momentum was on its side for the rest of the game. A 20-8 fourth quarter stretched the Trojans’ lead to as much as 15 as USC coasted to the win.

Rogers finished the game with 15 points and six assists in yet another impressive outing after scoring 20 points against the Buffs during last Sunday’s regular season finale. 

Miura tacked on another three in the fourth to finish the game with 9 timely points off the bench for USC.

The Trojans will now shift their attention to a difficult matchup against UCLA. The Bruins enjoyed a first-round bye after receiving the tournament’s No. 2 seed. 

Trakh believes USC’s chances at an NCAA Tournament bid shouldn’t be written off just yet. 

“Let’s keep going and see if we have an outside chance at the NCAA,” Trakh said. “Tomorrow’s gonna be really really tough, but … we’re going to enjoy tonight because as far as I’m concerned, we’re playing with house money right now.”

UCLA and USC have faced off twice this season. After the Trojans were blown out in the two teams’ first matchup Dec. 29, they rebounded just weeks later to upset the Bruins in double overtime, ending UCLA’s run as the only remaining undefeated team in women’s college basketball. 

In that win, USC enjoyed the good fortune of not having to face junior forward Michaela Onyenwere, UCLA’s leading scorer, who missed the contest after being considered a game time decision. Onyenwere is averaging 18.8 points per game and will pose a significant threat on the offensive end for Trakh and co. to contain. 

The Trojans are now winners of four games in a row and will head into Friday’s game with plenty of momentum on their side. The postseason edition of the crosstown showdown is set to tip off at 6 p.m. in Las Vegas.