USC Women's Basketball: Referees Of Double OT Trojans Win Critiqued By UCLA Head Coach Cori Close

Following your USC Trojans' hard-fought 80-70 double overtime victory over the UCLA Bruins on Friday night, during a riveting Pac-12 Tournament Semifinals matchup for the ages, Blue and Gold head coach Cori Close publicly complained about the massive differential in free throw attempts for both teams.

UCLA took just 17 foul shots, the same amount that USC freshman star shooting guard JuJu Watkins alone was allocated. USC as a team shot 37 charity stripe looks.

Luca Evans of The Orange County Register has the full quote, well worth reading in its entirety (for masochist Trojans fans):

Very interesting commentary here from UCLA coach Cori Close, when asked postgame about the free-throw disparity between USC-UCLA (37 to 17) tonight in USC's 80-70 win. Transcribed her full answer. Called for more transparency in refereeing in the women's game. pic.twitter.com/EytaQO5zZW
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) March 9, 2024

Ultimately, USC got to move on in Las Vegas, while Close's Bruins headed home, where they'll await their seeding fate in the NCAA Tournament.

The Trojans are currently in the midst of a chippy Pac-12 Tournament final, against the tournament's top seed, the Stanford Cardinal. Drawing contact and getting to the line is clearly going to be a critical strategy ploy for Watkins and head coach Lindsay Gottlieb to use today. We'll see if it becomes a crutch -- or if referees treat it with the same generosity they may have afforded it in the last run. Tune in on ESPN to peep the action.