LOS ANGELES — The USC women’s basketball team went down to the wire against Indiana to pull out a 79-73 win that extends the Trojans’ win streak to five games.
Jazzy Davidson led the Trojans with 24 points to go with six rebounds and three steals. Kara Dunn added 16 points and six rebounds, and Kennedy Smith finished with 15 points. Laura Williams had a team-high nine rebounds and Malia Samuels recorded four steals.
Every win is critical for USC (16-9 overall, 8-6 Big Ten), which is making up some ground after losing six out of eight games in January.
Four games remain on the Big Ten regular-season slate for the Trojans, starting with a home matchup against Wisconsin on Thursday. Ohio State, Penn State and UCLA are the three other opponents left on the schedule.
Indiana guard Shay Ciezki, the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 24.1 points per game, sat out. She was listed as “questionable” on the Big Ten availability report and rolled her ankle during shootaround earlier in the day, according to the Big Ten Network broadcast.
The injury didn’t hold the Hoosiers (14-12, 3-11) back in the first quarter. They put together scoring runs of 14-1 and 8-0, finishing off the last three seconds of the opening frame with a layup from freshman Nevaeh Caffey.
USC was able to chase Indiana off the arc to disrupt the Hoosiers’ 3-point shooting – one of their best attributes. Indiana shot just 4 for 12 from long range in the first half.
Davidson turned up her offensive output in the second quarter, taking seven shots as opposed to her four first-quarter attempts. She also made quick reads to share the ball in key moments, including a quick pass to Williams, who reached up for an easy layup.
Williams, who was starting in her third straight game, drew a foul on the play and made the ensuing free throw to cap a 9-0 surge that gave the Trojans a 35-34 lead.
USC kept applying one-on-one pressure to frustrate Indiana, but Maya Makalusky was able to break free for a 3-pointer in the waning five seconds to pull the Hoosiers ahead once again.
Londynn Jones sank a pair of free throws to start the third quarter and USC shot 9 for 12 from the foul line in the period to keep Indiana at arm’s length and head into the fourth with a 57-54 advantage.
The Trojans also got three Hoosiers starters into foul trouble. Caffey, Makalusky and Edessa Noyan were each playing with three fouls apiece. Indiana’s foul trouble continued in the fourth, and Jerni Kiaku – who started in place of Ciezki – fouled out with 4:25 left. Noyan fouled out less than a minute later.
Phoenix Stotijn was the third Indiana player to hit five fouls.
USC had a stretch of poor shooting in the fourth but was able to maintain its lead by making free throws. The Trojans stayed in rhythm defensively and were led by Malia Samuels’ tenacious plays that had her diving for the ball and swooping in for steals.
Samuels also fired a pass to Williams with 49 seconds on the clock for a layup that pulled USC ahead 79-71 and all but iced the win.
USC shot just 38% from the field but finished 28 for 35 at the free-throw line compared to 15 for 18 for Indiana, which shot 48% from the field.
The Trojans took better care of the ball too, turning it over just eight times compared to 19 for the Hoosiers.
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