USC women’s basketball falls to UCLA in Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal


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Freshman guard Endyia Rogers led USC with 18 points and five assists before fouling out of Friday’s quarterfinal matchup. (Ling Luo | Daily Trojan)

USC’s Pac-12 Tournament ride came to an end in the second round Friday evening when a motivated Trojan team fell short against crosstown rival UCLA, dropping the matchup by a final score of 73-66.

The Trojans dominated patches of the game, taking commanding leads at multiple stages, but the Bruins proved resilient, responding to every one of the Trojans’ runs with one of their own to keep the game close and ultimately pull away late.

Head coach Mark Trakh expressed pride in his team’s performance given the short turnaround following Thursday’s win against Colorado in the first round. 

“Playing as hard as we had to play last night, we ran out of gas a little at the end there,” Trakh said. 

Momentum swung like a pendulum during the contest. USC used an 11-0 run to stun UCLA out of the gate, leading to a 23-12 advantage coming out of the first quarter. 

UCLA responded quickly and effectively, however, opening up the second frame on an 8-0 run before eventually taking a 37-36 lead into the halftime break. 

After being outscored by 12 in the second quarter, the Trojans turned their halftime deficit into a lead after outscoring the Bruins by 7 in the third. 

Unfortunately for USC, the fortune swung back in UCLA’s favor in the final quarter. USC was outscored 27-14 and ultimately lost the game by 7. 

UCLA was led by junior forward Michaela Onyenwere, who finished the evening with a game-high 26 points and 15 rebounds, presenting a big challenge for USC beneath the rim for the entire night. Onyenwere scored 18 of UCLA’s final 29 points.

Onyenwere’s dominance and USC’s fouling issues proved to be too much for Trakh and co. to overcome. Both freshmen guard Endyia Rogers and forward Alissa Pili got into foul trouble early in the game to limit the Trojans’ ability to build upon their early lead. 

Rogers eventually fouled out, leaving the Trojans without their leading scorer for the remaining three minutes of the fourth quarter. She finished the night with 18 points along with five assists. 

When asked about the officiating, which was controversial at times, Rogers was adamant about the importance of staying level-headed. 

“We just have to play through it, stay poised throughout everything and keep hooping,” Rogers said. 

Rogers’ scoring performance marked the 20th time she has scored in double figures in just her first season at USC. 

Along with Rogers, Pili led USC with yet another impressive showing. Despite the early foul trouble, Pili finished the afternoon with 11 points of her own — a solid performance yet a step back from her recent dominant outings. 

The Trojans benefited from strong showings by a pair of veterans. Graduate guard Aliyah Jeune had 11 points in just her second game back after missing time with a knee injury, while senior forward Kayla Overbeck racked up her first double-double of the season with a 12-point and 13-rebound performance. 

The loss moves USC to 17-14 on the season, an encouraging mark considering the team’s slew of injuries and the inexperience within the young team’s regular rotation. 

The Trojans will likely accept an invitation to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament and aim to conclude their season on a positive note. The selection and seeding of the field is expected to be announced before 9 p.m. March 16.