Trojans bounce back, dominate No. 25 Colorado

Despite a slow start for the USC women’s basketball team, their high-percentage 3-point shooting allowed them to beat the then-No. 25 Colorado Buffaloes 71-54 Sunday afternoon. Following an 83-73 loss to the then-No. 9 Utah Utes Friday night, the Trojans closed out a two-game road trip against top-25 opponents with a dominant victory. 

Although the Trojans came into the game as 6.5-point underdogs, the Trojans’ high-percentage shooting — especially in the third and fourth quarters — allowed them to keep their lead out of reach. USC began the game without much success on the offensive end but were able to find the hot hand in the second half, in which they scored 45 of their 71 points.

On the first possession of the second half, senior guard Destiny Littleton, who has been a huge part of the team’s success this season, drilled a 3-pointer that would be the start of a 15-5 run for the Trojans. Along with contributions from graduate student guard Okako Adika, sophomore forward Rayah Marshall, senior guard Alyson Miura and graduate student forward Kadi Sissoko, the Trojans’ run allowed them to maintain a comfortable lead throughout the rest of the game. Littleton, Sissoko and Marshall led the way offensively with 21, 18 and 19 points respectively. Miura came off of the bench and hit two crucial 3-pointers that crushed any hope of Colorado making a late-game comeback. 

Littleton, a transfer from South Carolina, has recently been impactful on the court for the Trojans. She’s averaging nearly 16 points per game over her last 6 outings, including the team’s upset over No. 2 Stanford on January 15. 

As a team, the Trojans shot the ball extremely well, going 44.8% from the field and 47.4% from beyond the arc. On top of shooting 10 of 12 from the stripe, the Trojans’ recent theme of high-scoring games continues, even during tough road trips against high-quality teams.

After giving up a season high 83 points to Utah, the Trojans hoped to improve their performance on the defensive side of the ball and did so in their contest against the Buffs, holding them to just 54 points. While a strong offensive performance certainly overshadows any other statistic, Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb praised the team’s defensive effort. 

“Our connectedness on the defensive end and really just knowing that’s our calling card,” said Gottlieb in a postgame interview. “Like going back to our identity and making it a priority to get stops.”

After several long road stints, the Trojans will return to Los Angeles for four straight home games as the second half of Pac-12 play begins. Upon reflecting on several close games throughout their away trips, Gottlieb said the team has learned much from difficult road performances, and expressed that she feels hopeful for the rest of the season. 

“[This trip] proves that we’re capable of doing really hard things,” Gottlieb said. “This is a tough trip, both physically because of altitude and travel and also because these two teams are really good, so just knowing that we’re capable of beating anyone when we play the type of basketball that’s worthy of getting a win in this conference.”

The Trojans, now 6-4 in the Pac-12, good enough for sixth place in the conference, look to continue their climb up the standings as they return home for a much-needed travel break.

“I think we take a lot of confidence away from [this trip] and we’re not done setting our standards high,” Gottlieb said. “We know we have a bunch of home games in a row but that’s no license for us to relax at all so I think that this is a group with a lot of confidence and a lot of belief.”

The Trojans look to continue their winning ways against Arizona State next Friday at 7 p.m. at Galen Center.