The USC Trojans women’s basketball team was soaring after defeating UCLA and moving up the rankings. Then came a loss to Utah, and now the Trojans have lost their first home game of the season, falling to the Washington Huskies on Sunday.
USC’s defense was not amazing or extraordinary against the Huskies. Washington shot 46 percent from the field. USC definitely fell short of where it wants to be in that regard, and that was part of the story in the three-point loss to U-Dub.
However, defense is clearly not the main reason USC lost. The Trojans allowed just 62 points. It wasn’t their best, but they weren’t exactly torched, either. The main reason defense did not lose this game for USC: The Trojans forced 22 Washington turnovers. USC attempted nine more field goals (59-50), and free throw attempts were nearly even (11 for UW, 9 for USC). Offensive rebounds were even, at 9-9. When a team attempts nine more shots than the opponent and offensive rebounds and free throws are roughly even, that team should normally win. USC did not.
Let’s take a brief look at this game and why USC’s offense needs to engineer a turnaround, far more than the defense: