Last Sunday, No. 7 USC fell to No. 18 Utah for the second time this season, snapping the Trojans’ seven-game win streak. 

USC’s (21-5, 11-5 Pac-12) offense couldn’t find a groove to start the game, scoring just six points in the first quarter. And despite the Trojans outscoring the Utes (20-8, 10-6) in the next two frames, a close, fourth-quarter battle ended with Utah prevailing 74-68, handing USC its first loss of February. 

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“The lessons we can take from Utah are really important as we move forward,” said Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “There’s a lot to learn and I’m not worried about putting the loss behind us because of everything that’s at stake for us.”

Freshman guard JuJu Watkins logged her 12th 30-point performance of the season but the team’s dismal 27-67 shooting night, including 4-20 from beyond the arc, couldn’t edge out the hungry Utes. Utah senior forward and former Trojan Alissa Pili scored 23 points against her former squad.

“Trying to be more consistent overall is always my end goal,” Watkins said. “There’s always ways I could be better.”

With two regular season games remaining, USC will look to put last Sunday’s woes in the past and possibly cover ground in the standings before heading into the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament. Next on tap are the Wildcats (16-12, 8-8) and Sun Devils (11-17, 3-13), two teams the Trojans have already handled with ease this season.

Watkins’ 30-point game kept the Trojans in the game against Utah, but it was a rather inefficient game for the freshman. Watkins shot 10-30 from the floor and 1-6 from deep, which made it significantly tougher for USC to keep up with the Utes. However, looking ahead, Watkins’ goal will be to replicate her previous success against the Arizona schools, as she dropped over 30 points against both earlier in February. 

Graduate forward Kaitlyn Davis will hope to build off her 13-point, eight-rebound game against Utah and continue her shooting tear. Davis hasn’t missed a single field goal attempt in the past two games, hitting 10-for-10 over the stretch while also being a staple on the glass.

Graduate guard McKenzie Forbes notched her fourth consecutive double-digit scoring performance and remains as USC’s reliable second scoring option. Forbes posted 18 points last time around against Arizona State and hit three 3-pointers against Arizona, so she’ll surely be a big factor when the Trojans venture to the Grand Canyon State.

The Wildcats recently swept the Pac-12 weekly awards, as fifth-year forward Esmery Martinez took home Pac-12 Player of the Week and freshman guard Jada Williams was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. While USC held Martinez and Williams to 13 and 10 points respectively in the first matchup, the duo and team has been on a massive surge lately. The ‘Cats have won four in a row, including an upset win against then-No. 3 Stanford (24-4, 13-3), Arizona’s first road win over the Cardinal since 2001.

Williams matched her season-high of 23 against Stanford, and is coming off yet another big performance against UC Berkeley (16-12, 6-10), tallying 18 points in the Wildcats’ blowout victory. Martinez had 17 points against the Cardinal and 20 against the Golden Bears, while grabbing nine rebounds in each game. The Trojans must not get complacent just because they easily took down Arizona by 17 on Feb. 12, and should be wary of the electric pair of Williams and Martinez.

“Arizona has played hard the whole year,” Gottlieb said. “We can finish in second if we win both games this weekend, that’s huge.”

The Sun Devils are the second-worst team in the Pac-12 and have lost six of their last seven matchups. They’ll take on No. 8 UCLA (22-5, 11-5) before their date with USC and will attempt to end the regular season with a victory. 

Last time against the Trojans, star sophomore guard Jalyn Brown scored 24 points. Brown is no stranger to performing well against steep competition, as she also notched 18 points against Stanford, 25 against the then-No. 9 Bruins and 35 against then-No. 5 Colorado (20-7, 10-6). USC must keep an eye on the perimeter to defend Brown’s 3-point shooting ability.

One other Arizona State player to watch out for will be sophomore guard Trayanna Crisp. Crisp is the Sun Devils’ second-leading scorer and contributed 17 points in Arizona State’s 18-point loss to the Trojans Feb. 9.

USC’s six-point defeat to Utah was disappointing, but with only two games before the Pac-12 tournament, the Trojans will have to put the season sweep to the Utes on the backburner and get back to work.

“Playing in March is a blessing,” Forbes said. “I’m excited to have the chance with this group that we have.”

The Trojans will head to Tucson to first take on the Wildcats Thursday at 6 p.m. MST at McKale Center. Then, USC will make its way to Tempe for a battle with the Sun Devils Saturday at noon MST at Desert Financial Arena.