LOS ANGELES - February 25th, 2024
No. 18 Utah picked up its fourth upset win over a Top 10 team by taking down No. 7 USC with a final score of 74-68. This marks the highest ranked road win in Utah history.
Alissa Pili returned to the Galen Center after spending her first three collegiate seasons as a Trojan. Pili led the Utes to victory with a game high 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Utah's strong first quarter holding USC to just six points was a driving force into the final minutes of the game. The Utes made 10 free throws in the final five minutes of the game that gave Utah the edge into victory.
Utah is now 20-8 overall on the season and 10-6 in Pac-12 play.
GAME SUMMARY
The Trojans were the first to get on the scoreboard but then went on to miss nine straight shots and the Utes forced a five minute Trojan scoring drought. During that time, Alissa Pili scored seven consecutive points for the Utes to give Utah a five point lead. To end the first quarter, Utah went on a 5-0 run to take a 14-6 lead.
In the second quarter, Utah maintained the lead and thanks to made three pointers by Ines Vieira, Matyson Wilke and Kennady McQueen the Utes took a 10-point lead. The Trojans made a surge to cut the score deficit back to single digits but Utah maintained for a 34-28 lead at halftime.
Utah lagged coming out of half time as USC was able to tie the game with 3:22 left in the third quarter. The Utes found some momentum thanks to an 8-0 run that was sparked by a driving layup from Dasia Young. Utah hung tight for a 50-45 lead going into the final quarter of play.
Utah and USC battled the entire fourth quarter. With tensions high, Utah never lost the lead. Going into the final minute of play, Utah had a six point lead. USC knocked down a three with 40 seconds left to bring the game within two possessions. The Trojans needed to foul to get the ball back but the Utes knocked down four consecutive free throws to drive the nail in to walk away with a 74-68 win over USC.
LEADERS
Utah had four Utes score in double figures and were led by Alissa Pili's second consecutive double-double 23 points and 11 rebounds. Kennady McQueen recorded 14 points while Dasia Young recorded 13 points. Matyson Wilke was the final Ute to post double figures with 11 including three made from beyond the arc.
Jenna Johnson posted nine assists for Utah's offensive efforts.
COMPARISON
Utah ended the game shooting 48.9 percent from the field while USC shot 40.3. Utah knocked down 11 made from beyond the arc for 40.7 percent while the Trojans hit four from deep for 20.0 percent. Utah went 17-25 from the free throw line for 68.0 percent while USC shot 68.7 percent from the line. The Trojans out rebounded the Utes 36-30.
HEAR FROM THE UTES
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
Opening statements
"USC is tough. [JuJu] Watkins is scary. We knew we weren't going to shut her down but we've had to make her work for everything. They're a good team and well coached. When they pushed we answered. It was a physical game, Jenna Johnson ended up getting stitches again and we didn't have her the final minutes of the game. We had a few unlucky fouls but we battled. We knew we needed to get [Alissa] Pili the ball so she could battle. We made our free throws when we needed to. It was a great win, huge road win after Thursday's debacle."
On bouncing back after the UCLA loss
"It's late February. We know who we are. We know what makes us good and we know what makes us bad and we were really really bad on Thursday. As players they were frustrated. In this league anyone can beat anybody and we knew we needed to shine in this game. It was a regroup and take out our frustration on the USC.
#35 Alissa Pili, Forward
On satisfaction going to USC and performing well…
"There's a little bit of extra satisfaction with the win today. Especially with the whole crowd booing me when I was at the line, I got a little satisfaction making those."
On reflecting on career and determining if transferring was the best choice…
"I think everything worked out in my favor. USC is a great program and I have nothing but respect for all the coaches and players. But for me personally, I just wasn't in the right mindset to stay in a place where I had been comfortable in the environment. I think I needed to step out of my comfort zone a little bit to really push me to get to where I knew I could be."
On how the mindset switched following UCLA game earlier this week…
"I think we were tired. There's been a few games where we've had games like that. I think we're just sick and tired of short selling ourselves when we know the type of team that we can be. We're talking about it all the time but to actually put it to action and to put it to the test like that is a whole [different] thing. I think we did that today and it's going to be good moving forward."