USC Women's Basketball: Comeback Falls Short, Trojans' Drop Key Game to Washington

USC narrowly misses attempted comeback.

USC women's basketball was upset by Washington at the Galen Center as their comeback attempt fell just short in a 62-59. The Washington defense proved too much for the Trojans, who lost to the Huskies for the first time since 2020. 

Final. pic.twitter.com/VyReXoz6tK

— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) January 28, 2024

The Trojans made a valiant attempt at a comeback in the final minutes, with Kayla Padilla and Juju Watkins hitting clutch threes, but Washington's defense and free-throw accuracy kept the game out of reach.

Washington controlled the game for much of the first half, particularly in the second quarter when they extended their lead to 34-23 at the half.

At halftime, USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb kept it blunt, telling the Pac-12 broadcast, “I’m seeing our butts get absolutely kicked."

The Trojans responded after the half, taking the charge in the third quarter as they outscored the Huskies 21-12 during the quarter. This narrowed the lead down to 46-44 after the third, but Washington managed to maintain their lead over USC and get the win. 

The Huskies' defense led the day. Not only did they slow down top Trojans in Juju Watkins and McKenzie Forbes, but they notched 34 rebounds, compared to just 20 for the Trojans.

Washington senior Lauren Schwartz was consistent throughout the day and led her team in scoring with 21 points, three rebounds and three assists. Junior Dalayah Daniels also factored in big to Washington's win with a team-second 12 points, and a huge 12 rebounds.

On the USC side, graduate transfer Kayla Padilla was the most consistent scorer of the game, leading the team with 20 points.

This is USC's third loss in their last four games and drops them to 14-4. While Watkins called their two recent losses on the road to Utah and Colorado "part of the process" to the broadcast, this was USC's first home loss of the year and an upset.

USC will get a chance to rebound next Friday at Stanford.