LAS VEGAS, NEV. — The No. 5 USC women's basketball team served up one more upset and one more win over a top-10 opponent in taking down top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Stanford 704-61 in today's Pac-12 Tournament championship game at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The total team effort saw
McKenzie Forbes put forth a heroic 26-point outing along with a double-double from
Rayah Marshall and big-time shots made by
Kayla Padilla to help fuel the Trojans to their second Pac-12 tourney title, last won 10 years ago in 2014. At 26-5 overall,
Lindsay Gottlieb's Trojans had recorded the most wins for USC since 1993-94, when Cheryl Miller was at the helm.
The teams traded 10-0 rallies in the first half, and it was tied up 22-22 early in the second quarter, but USC pushed back out ahead and wrapped the half on a 6-0 run to lead it 40-31. USC had shot 41.7 percent from the floor in those first 20 minutes to trail Stanford's 46.2 percent effort, although the Trojans were ahead on the boards 22-13 by the break. USC had turned eight Stanford turnovers into 15 points, and the Trojans landed six 3-pointers in the first half to the Cardinal's four first-half threes. USC stayed in the driver's seat from there, keeping the Cardinal in at least an eight-point hole down the stretch to lock up the title. USC finished up shooting 39.7 percent overall to Stanford's 42.4 percent, while the Trojans stayed ahead on the boards 48-28 and ended up with 21 points scored off of 11 Stanford turnovers. USC landed nine 3-pointers in the win, ahead of Stanford's seven.
Forbes' game-high 26 points paved the way for the Trojans, who had Padilla add 13 points and Marshall tally 10 points with a season-high 18 rebounds. Stanford was led by Cameron Brink's 19 points and 10 rebounds along with 18 points from Kiki Iriafen.
Forbes was selected the Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player, and Watkins was named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team.
All the action was coming from beyond the arc early on, with
McKenzie Forbes striking first for USC. Stanford planted back-to-back threes next, only to see
Kayla Padilla mirror that all herself as USC led it 9-6. Forbes nabbed a steal and finished on the other end, and the
Rayah Marshall performed a similar pick-and-finish, spinning in the paint to make it a 10-0 USC rally to lead it 13-6 at 4:25 in the first.
Kaitlyn Davis went beast mode for two big buckets around a defensive interception by the grad student to build a 10-point USC advantage, up 22-12 at 1:35. Stanford managed a three next, and dropped in the last bucket of the quarter to make it a 22-17 margin after 10 minutes of play. Stanford made it a 10-0 run with the first five points of the second to snarl it up 22-22, but
Rayah Marshall broke that up with a putback in the paint.
Kayla Williams checked in and brought the fire for the Trojans next, hitting a jumper and then a 3-pointer around a Cardinal score, and USC was up 29-24 at 4:46. It was a three-point margin with 1:45 to go when
JuJu Watkins' first points fell with a successful trip to the free-throw line, and USC would end the half on a 6-0 run after free throws from Padilla and a clutch pull-up jumper from Forbes for a 40-31 halftime lead.
Marshall was the go-to for USC to open the second half, and the junior answered the call in scoring USC's first six points in a back-and-forth battle that had USC up 46-35 with 5:50 on the clock. A score from Watkins sparked a 7-0 USC rally that featured a bucket and a clutch 3-pointer from Forbes to build a 50-37 lead at 2:50. While the foul count tipped heavily against the Trojans in the third, a foul-less Stanford fired back with a 7-0 shove to end the quarter, and it was a 53-44 USC lead entering the fourth. The Cardinal would get no closer than eight points away from the Trojans the rest of the way, as USC kept finding big shots from the floor and the free-throw line, ending the game on a 5-0 run care of Watkins and Forbes to round out the championship with a 74-61 USC victory.
NEXT:
No. 5 USC now awaits the NCAA Selection Show, set for 5 p.m. on March 17, to determine the Trojans' postseason path. USC is likely to be selected as a host for the NCAA First and Second Rounds, which would bring NCAA action to Galen Center for the first time since 2009.
NOTABLE:
- With 10 points and a season-high 18 rebounds today, JR
Rayah Marshall recorded her 12th double-double of the season and the 32nd of her USC career.
- Marshall has now recorded double-digit rebounds in the last five games.
- Marshall is now stands along in the USC record books at No. 10 all-time in career rebounds with 841.
- GS
Kaitlyn Davis served up a season-high five assists.
- With nine points today, FR
JuJu Watkins has now scored the second most points in a single season at USC with 810, behind Cheryl Miller's record of 814 in 1985-86.
- This was the third Pac-12 Tournament title game appearance for HC
Lindsay Gottlieb, who is the first coach to ever lead two different Pac-12 programs to the title game (led Cal to 2012 & 2015 title games).
- USC has now won two Pac-12 Tournament titles (2014 & 2024), making the Trojans just the third team to win multiple conference tournament titles (Stanford & Oregon).
- The last time USC beat Stanford twice in a season was a three-win performance in 1986-87.
- USC is now 23-1 overall when scoring 65 or more points and 20-1 when outrebounding its opponent.
- USC has now recorded five wins over top-10 ranked opponents this season — the most such wins in a single season since also winning five in 1984-85.
