LOS ANGELES — The USC women’s basketball team entered its crosstown matchup with No. 10 UCLA riding a wave of confidence. An undefeated start, the chance to make a statement against its rival, and a home environment with the Victory Bell in front of the band and top recruit Juju Watkins and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams courtside.

And when Destiny Littleton grabbed a UCLA miss with 11.7 seconds left, the Trojans had a chance to call timeout and set up a game-tying 3-pointer.

But the Bruins trapped Alyson Miura in the corner and her attempt to pass out of it was intercepted by Gina Conti, allowing the Bruins to escape with a 59-56 win at the Galen Center.

UCLA head coach Cori Close considered fouling on the final possession, before remembering that USC had rebounded two misses already in the game. So she relied on the scouting by her staff members to close out the win.

“They had already prepared me for, ‘If they need a 3, this is what they’re going to,’ ” Close said. “We knew who they were going to and we knew what they were going to do.”

USC forward Kadi Sissoko led all scorers with 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting while Rayah Marshall added 15 for the Trojans (9-1). Emily Bessoir led the Bruins with 16, while Charisma Osborne had a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double.

The Bruins (10-1) took a two-point lead into the second quarter, but Marshall – back after a two-game absence – gave USC some life with nine second-quarter points. A layup on the opening possession of the second quarter tied the game, then Marshall’s three-point play put USC back in the lead.

USC kept it close, with the score tied at 22 with 4:43 left in the half. But after starting the game 7 for 15 from the floor, the Trojans missed 11 of their next 12 shots.

That coincided with the Bruins finding their rhythm offensively. A reverse layup by Rice put UCLA back ahead, then Bessoir doubled the lead with a layup courtesy of an assist from a double-teamed Lina Sontag.

The Bruins had started the game 0 for 10 from behind the arc, but Bessoir buried a third-chance 3-pointer with 1:48 left in the half to break the cold streak. She hit another with five seconds left before halftime to help the Bruins close on a 17-6 run and take an 11-point lead.

Sissoko battled to bring USC back into the game in the third quarter, attacking the rim with her long arms or spinning out of post-ups to leave defenders behind her. A Taylor Bigby 3-pointer and then a Kayla Williams drive and dish to Marshall for a soft layup had USC within three.

But an Osborne put-back layup kept the Trojans at arm’s length. UCLA finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds leading to 23 second-chance points, deflating a USC defense that worked hard to stop the Bruins and hold them to 32.9% shooting from the floor but could not finish out plays.

The Trojans bemoaned the second-chance opportunities surrendered along with a 12 for 20 mark from the free-throw line after the game.

“There are some things that are going to haunt me; missed free throws, that second quarter we gave up too many points,” USC head coach Lindsey Gottlieb said. “It’s on me to figure out getting us to be able to score a few more points in critical situations.”

Still, the Trojans had their chance. And when Marshall buried a 3-pointer from the corner with 4:43 left to cut what had once been an 11-point UCLA lead to one, it looked as though the Trojans were going to get their feel-good Christmas story.

But the Bruins instead walked away with a win in their Pac-12 opener.

“I think playing the kind of tough teams early on was super helpful in preparing us for a big rivalry game like this,” Rice said.

Related Articles