No.10 ranked UCLA Bruins hold on to beat the USC Trojans 59-56 at the Galen Center
USC Trojans #30 Kadi Sissoko being guarded by UCLA Bruins #5 Brynn Masikewich. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.
LOS ANGELES, CA - The USC Trojans (9-1) open Pac-12 Conference play, taking on their cross-town rival, the No. 10 ranked UCLA Bruins (10-1), and came up short 59-56 at the Galen Center.
Kadi Sissoko led the Trojans in scoring with 20 points, Rayah Marshall with 15 points and ten rebounds, and Destiny Littleton with 10 points. Both teams took care of the basketball, with USC committing ten turnovers and UCLA eight turnovers.
The Trojans held the Bruins to seven points in the fourth quarter, and despite the loss, head coach Lindsay Gottlieb was pleased by how they fought back.
"To hold a top-10 team to 59 points, we have to score more than 56," Gottlieb said. "There are some things that are going to haunt me, like the missed free throws and possessions in the first half. Or in that second quarter, we gave up too many points. There's a lot to learn from it. It's on me to figure out how to get us able to score more points in critical situations."
UCLA Bruins #22 Christeen Iwuala going up strong for an layup. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.
Kadi Sissoko made a reverse layup to give USC a 2-0 lead in the first quarter. The Trojans led 5-0 with a three-pointer by Destiny Littleton.
The Bruins trailed 5-4 after a layup by Christeen Iwuala and a jump shot by Kiki Rice. Sissoko gave the Trojans a 7-4 lead with her layup.
Charisma Osborne drove to the basket for a layup that had the Bruins up 16-11.
Littleton would knock down a three-pointer that would have USC trailing at the end of the quarter 16-14.
The Trojans tied the game 16-16 with a basket by Rayah Marshall in the second quarter. The Bruins retook the lead 18-16 with a layup by Rice. USC regained the lead 19-18 after Marshall made her shot after being foul made her free throw.
UCLA would tie the game 20-20 with a layup by Lina Sontag. Osborne followed her missed shot and went to the basket for a layup to give UCLA a 28-24 lead.
UCLA would lead by ten points, 36-26, with a layup by Kiki Rice. The Trojans would trail by eleven points, 39-28 after Bessoir made a three-pointer before the buzzer went off to end the quarter.
USC Trojans #13 Rayah Marshall defending UCLA Bruins #11 Emily Bessoir. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.
Sissoko led the Trojans in scoring with 13 points, Marshall with 9 points, and Littleton with 6 points. Rice led the Bruins in scoring with 13 points, Bessoir with 10 points, and Osborne with 9 points.
USC trailed 39-31 in the third quarter with a three-pointer by Taylor Bigby. UCLA led 41-31 with a jump shot by Bessoir. USC was down 43-37 after a reverse layup by Sissoko.
The Trojans were down 45-40 after Bigby made a three-point shot. Osborne would make a three-pointer to give UCLA a 48-42 lead. The Bruins led at the end of the third quarter 52-44.
Bigby had the Trojans trailing 52-47 in the fourth quarter with a three-point shot. Marshall would knock down a three-pointer, and USC trailed 52-51 with 4:43 left in the game.
Bessoir, with a put-back basket after a missed free throw by the Bruins, made the score 57-52. Littleton would make two free throws to make the score 57-54.
UCLA would go up by five points, 59-54, with a layup by Camryn Brown. Sissoko would score the last basket for the Trojans, making the final score 59-56.
The Bruins will have to credit their defense for not allowing the Trojans to come from behind to win the game despite their lack of offense in the fourth quarter.
"Offensively, we had very poor rhythm, that's an understatement. I realize we didn't shoot it very well," UCLA coach Cori Close said. "I felt like we earned some confidence that defense and rebounding against a really good team, a really good rebounding team, that can be our anchor."
Bessoir would lead the Bruins in scoring with 16 points, and Rice and Osborne both with 14 points.