WOMEN’S BASKETBALL — 2023-24
USC vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi — as it happened
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📌 PINNED
Thomas Johnson & Leila MacKenzie from Galen Center; photos by Jordan Renville.
It’s time for the Big Dance. No. 1 USC is taking on No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round of March Madness.
The Trojans are playing their first home NCAA Tournament game since 1994, the same year Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson, coached by Cheryl Miller, made a run to the Elite Eight.
We’ll be reporting live from Galen Center in Los Angeles. Refresh to see new updates.
3:38 p.m.
After USC completed one of the prettiest plays of the afternoon in which Dominique Darius dumped a mini floater to Rayah Marshall who then handed the ball off to Malia Samuels for the bunny shot, Gottlieb pulled all her starters out of the game.
Less than two minutes remain and USC leads 82-53.
3:34 p.m.
Tommy Trojan just hit the griddy.
More to come…
3:28 p.m.
The fourth quarter is far from over, but two of the Trojans’ reserves in Malia Samuels and Dominique Darius are already on the floor. Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb most likely believes the Trojans have this game in the bag; that would make sense because USC leads by 31 points.
3:22 p.m.
There’s still a whole quarter left and according to our calculations, the Islanders will need at least four miracles to overcome the Trojans’ 71-41 lead.
3:17 p.m.
The Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player is unstoppable in the second half. Forbes just hit another triple and with 21 points each, Forbes and Watkins lead the Trojans in scoring.
3:13 p.m.
Galen Center has exploded.
Well, not literally. Kayla Padilla just nailed a three from the left wing while falling flat on her back and seconds later, Taylor Bigby came up with a steal, leading to McKenzie Forbes’ second triple of the afternoon. Objectively, it was awesome and the crowd reacted appropriately.
The Trojans lead 66-44 with 1:05 left in the third quarter.
3:02 p.m.
The Trojans’ lead is holding steady at around 20 points. They are currently up 51-32 and have shot a sharp 7-11 in the first five minutes of the second half.
3:00 p.m.
McKenzie Forbes has found her shot this afternoon: A soft jumper from the middle of the center of the paint. She leads the Trojans this half with 6 points, converting 3-4 attempts.
2:37 p.m.
That’s the half. While it cooled off in the second quarter, USC now leads 36-20 with 20 minutes left to play in this one. Watkins has 15 points so far on an efficient 5-11.
2:34 p.m.
The Trojans are back in business downtown. After missing seven consecutive triples, Taylor Bigby sealed the half for the USC offense with a three.
2:31 p.m.
Watkins has reclaimed this game as her own. She leads both teams with 14 points and four forced turnovers. The next leading scorer is the Islanders’ Alecia Westbrook who has 6.
2:31 p.m.
At 30-15, The Trojans have double the Islanders’ points after Watkins gets a steal and converts the fast-break layup. Less than three minutes left in the half.
2:29 p.m.
For a moment, the Islanders looked like they were building some momentum. They came out of the time out with a quick bucket and USC’s Kayla Williams missed a pair of free throws, but the Trojans are back with a double-digit lead as McKenzie Forbes hits their first three of the quarter.
2:23 p.m.
The Islanders are keeping it close. The Trojan lead is now only 11 points as Texas A&M-CC has shot 50% from the field in the second quarter. 5:23 until halftime with USC up 24-13.
2:19 p.m.
As dominant as the Trojans look on the scoreboard, USC hasn’t made a shot in the second quarter. It’s shooting 0-5 from the field and 0-3 from beyond the arc.
2:15 p.m.
We have an ESPN Not Top 10 moment as one of the referees wiped out on the floor. Official’s timeout on the floor. He’s being checked by athletic trainers, but is coming back onto the floor. Injury scare: avoided.
2:12 p.m.
The Islanders made the first and the last shot of the first quarter, but those were the only buckets they made in the opening frame.
USC is up 21-4 and it has limited Texas A&M-CC to 9.5% shooting
2:09 p.m.
The Trojans could not have asked for a better start to their first NCAA Tournament game. USC is up 17-2 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, compiling six blocks with 1:58 still left in the first quarter. Watkins is leading the way with 6 points, and Forbes is close behind with 5 of her own.
1:57 p.m.
As Watkins swats away another shot, the Islanders are shooting an abysmal 1-18 and 5.6% from the field in the first quarter.
1:52 p.m.
Boom. Slap. Clap. The Trojans are showing off their height against the much-smaller Islanders. USC already has four blocks, just over halfway into the first quarter. The Trojans lead 10-2.
1:45 p.m.
The Trojans are up 6-2 as JuJu Watkins and McKenzie Forbes opened scoring for USC with a pair of triples from the top of the key.
1:35 p.m.
In its first home NCAA Tournament game since 1994, this is the USC starting lineup:
G Kayla Padilla
G McKenzie Forbes
G JuJu Watkins
C Rayah Marshall
F Kaitlyn Davis
1:28 p.m.
After No. 8 Kansas beat No. 9 Michigan in overtime the game prior, the start time of No. 1 USC vs. No. 16 Texas A&M-CC was delayed.
