The plan was simple: Win and you’re in.

Wednesday night, USC women’s basketball (17-11, 9-8 Big Ten) had a seemingly easy task ahead of it in the form of Penn State (11-17, 4-13), one of the bottom four teams in the Big Ten whose only conference wins had come against other bottom-four teams.

Sitting fairly comfortably in the projected NCAA Tournament field, the Trojans would have all but guaranteed themselves a spot in the bracket with a win over the Lady Lions. Even a subsequent loss to No. 2 UCLA (27-1, 17-0) and a first-round exit from the Big Ten Tournament likely wouldn’t have done enough to bump USC out of the playoff picture.

Instead, the Trojans emerged from University Park, Pennsylvania, with their worst loss of the season: an 85-82 defeat at the hands of a sub-.400 team, in a game they led for 86% of the time. Before Wednesday, USC was undefeated in non-Quadrant 1 matchups; now, it has a Quadrant 3 loss on its resume.

While the Trojans shouldn’t fall out of the projected field altogether, they will likely need at least one more win to keep their tournament hopes alive — either in the regular season’s finale with the Bruins, which seems unlikely given the lopsided nature of their previous matchup, or in the Big Ten Tournament.

McMiller leads relentless Lion offense

For much of Wednesday’s matchup, USC seemed well on its way to picking up an easy win. After freshman guard Jazzy Davidson opened the scoring with a 3, the Trojans didn’t once allow Penn State to draw even in the first 30 minutes, leading by as much as 12 in the third quarter.

However, the Lions had a weapon that USC simply couldn’t stop: sophomore guard Kiyomi McMiller. One of the Big Ten’s leading scorers, McMiller utterly dominated the Trojan defense, making seven 3-pointers and shooting 15-for-24 for a career-high 40 points.

Even with stellar offensive performances from Davidson and senior guard Kara Dunn, who notched 22 and 24 points, respectively, USC had no counter for Penn State’s attack. It didn’t stop at McMiller, either: As a team, the Lions shot 62% overall and 58% from deep, dwarfing the Trojans’ respective marks of 44% and 42%.

That disparity was especially apparent during the second half, in which Penn State shot 64% to USC’s 39%, causing a 15-point swing in the game’s final 15 minutes. The Lions took their first lead of the night with six minutes to play, eventually securing victory despite having led for just 10% of the game.

Star Trojans shine despite loss

Though their defense left much to be desired, the Trojans’ stars shined on offense all night, led by a return to form for Dunn. After failing to reach double-digits against No. 13 Ohio State (23-6, 12-5) for the first time in more than two months, the senior guard erupted against Penn State, racking up a team-high 24 points and six rebounds on 8-for-13 shooting; her six 3-pointers are tied for USC’s most in a game this season.

Davidson was close behind with 22 points — though on a less-efficient clip at 8-for-19 — to go along with a team-leading five assists and three steals. Wednesday marked Davidson’s sixth-straight game scoring more than 20 points as she continues her ascent up the Big Ten’s scoring leaderboard, having recently broken into the top 10 in points per game.

Rounding out the Trojans’ big three, sophomore guard Kennedy Smith enjoyed another efficient performance, shooting 7-for-13 to tally 19 points. Senior guard Londynn Jones hit the double-digit mark for the first time in five games, adding 10 points on a 3-for-10 clip.

As a team, USC’s 44% field-goal percentage was above its season average of around 41%; however, the number steadily dropped in each quarter, going from 56% in the first to 37% in the fourth. Smith especially fell victim to this trend, hitting 6-of-8 shots in the first half but just 1-of-5 in the second.

With two losses in hand, the Trojans return from a brutal road trip for their final bout of the regular season: a rematch with the Bruins. In the previous matchup between the crosstown rivals, USC took an 80-46 thrashing at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3, its worst margin of defeat since 2021 and under Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb.

The Trojans will bring the rivalry to Galen Center on Sunday at 3 p.m., as they look to turn their luck around with a massive upset in the regular season’s finale.