We talked about it on our most recent USC women’s basketball podcast: The Trojans’ uncharacteristically ragged defensive performance on Sunday against California was not that hard to explain.
Stanford, which has now clinched a share of the Pac-12 title for 2023 and has a chance to get a No. 1 seed at the NCAA Tournament, could not figure out USC’s defense in two separate meetings this season. USC, without its best defensive player, Rayah Marshall, limited Stanford to 50 points last Friday. That was a remarkable defensive effort by a shorthanded team on the road.
USC really did empty the tank against Stanford. Not much was left for Cal, even with Marshall coming back into the lineup. Starters were exhausted and the bench wasn’t able to make an impact. USC allowed over 70 points in regulation, over 80 in overtime. It wasn’t the standard the Trojans hold themselves to, but the explanation for the regression was easy to understand.
All the Trojans needed was a little rest, three full days after the Cal game.
Would we see this team get back to normal on defense on Thursday against Washington in the Galen Center?
How does this sound?
Washington committed more turnovers (18) than its number of made baskets. The Huskies scored just two points in the first quarter and 11 in the first half. Washington shot just 27.6 percent from the field and earned only eight free throw attempts, finishing with 43 points.
You can’t get much better than that.
Rayah Marshall blocked six shots and grabbed 10 rebounds. Clarice Akunwafo came off the bench to deliver 3 blocked shots and 7 boards in some high-value minutes for the Trojans. Destiny Littleton played a typically full game, giving USC 39 high-intensity defensive minutes on the perimeter. It all added up to a night in which Washington scored just 30 points in the game’s first 37 1/2 minutes. The Huskies scored 13 of their 43 points — nearly one-third of their total game output — in the final 2 1/2 minutes of play.
USC locked down its first NCAA Tournament bid in nine years by doing what it has been doing this whole season: playing lockdown defense.
Lock up the opposing offense, lock up an NCAA Tournament berth. The math is clean and the defense is mean for USC women’s hoops.
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