USC finishes two game homestand winless


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Senior guard Desiree Caldwell dribbles the ball during USC’s 83-57 loss against No. 2 Stanford Sunday.
Senior guard Desiree Caldwell dribbles the ball during USC’s 83-57 loss against No. 2 Stanford Sunday. Caldwell had 4 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists against the Cardinal. (Colin Huang | Daily Trojan)

USC entered last weekend’s two-game slate of home contests at Galen Center in the midst of a season long four-game losing streak. The Trojans looked to get back on track against UC Berkeley Friday and against the No. 2 ranked Stanford Cardinal Sunday. However, they came out extending their losing streak to six. 

USC went into Friday’s game against Cal with a record of 9-9 while the Golden Bears had a 9-5 record and had not played a game since Jan. 21. Friday’s matchup against Cal was close as USC trailed 28-25 at halftime and trailed by 5 points heading into the fourth quarter. 

With just nine seconds left in the game, it was tied at 59 and Golden Bears junior guard Leilani McIntosh hit what ended up being a game winning 3-pointer with four seconds left. The Trojans got the ball back for one last possession to try to tie the game, but USC turned it over before they could attempt to get a shot off.

The Trojans struggled shooting the ball in their previous four-game road trip, and although they only shot 36% from the floor in Friday’s game, it was higher than Cal’s 32% shooting from the floor. 

The Trojans also shot higher from the 3-point range than the Golden Bears did — USC shot 40% from three compared to 30% from Cal. However, USC did lose the turnover battle 13 to 11 and got out-rebounded 41 to 40.

The marquee matchup between USC sophomore forward Jordyn Jenkins and Cal freshman guard Jayda Curry turned out to be as good as advertised. 

Jenkins had a career high 26 points on 52% shooting from the floor, and Curry led the Golden Bears in scoring, with 21 points after only scoring two first half points. Jenkins also displayed her abilities on the defensive end as she had 3 blocked shots. USC ended up losing to UC Berkeley for the first time since January 2019.

Sunday’s game against the Cardinal was not as close of a game for the Trojans. Stanford entered the game with a 17-3 record, and 9 wins came against Pac-12 teams. USC only found itself down 5 points against the Cardinal in the second quarter, but Stanford went on a 13-0 run in the final 5:15 of the quarter to push the lead to 37-19 at half.

From there, the Cardinal never looked back and went on to win the game 83-57. 

The Trojans had three players in double figures scoring-wise, with Jenkins leading the way with 20 points, while sophomore forward Cameron Brink led Stanford in scoring with a season-high 26 points along with 14 rebounds. 

The Cardinal shot 43% from the field and 38% from three compared to 33% from the field and 14% from three for USC. Stanford also won the turnover battle 17 to 15 and dominated the glass as they outrebounded the Trojans 48 to 34.

As USC’s losing streak continues, the Trojans look ahead to a three-game road trip beginning Wednesday against Utah. The game will tip off at 1 p.m.