No. 5 Stanford Surges To Victory After Tight First Quarter With USC Women

Jan 24, 2021

SANTA CRUZ, CALIF. — The USC women's basketball team saw No. 5 Stanford shoot 50 percent, nail 10 threes and dominate the boards as the Trojans' early lead fell away at the hands of the Cardinal, which claimed a final 86-59 win over USC in Santa Cruz today. The loss moves USC to 6-7 overall and to 4-6 in Pac-12 play, while Stanford bumps up to 12-2, 9-2.

Stanford nailed six first-half 3-pointers to turn a tight first frame into a 15-point Cardinal lead by halftime. The hosts shot 53 percent from the field in those first 20 minutes, while USC was at 36 percent with just a single 3-pointer landed as the Trojans trailed Stanford 45-30 at the break. Four more threes would fall for the Cardinal in thee second half while it also continued ownership of the boards, finishing out the game with a 53-22 rebounding advantage. Stanford wrapped up at 50 percent from the floor while USC took a step forward to a final 38 percent, which wasn't enough to get the Trojans back within reach of the Cardinal.

USC had three players finish in double figures, led by Endyia Rogers' game-high 19 points and 12 apiece from Jordan Sanders and Angel Jackson. Stanford got 18 points from Haley Jones, with Kiana Williams adding 16 and 12 each from Lexie Hull and Fran Belibi.

The Trojans went toe-to-toe with the Cardinal in the first frame, with USC edging ahead with some sharp play by sophomores Endyia Rogers and Angel Jackson. That combination got USC up 18-15 with 3:30 left in first, only to see Stanford score the last six points to sneak ahead 22-18 after 10 minutes of action. With USC's Alissa Pili on the bench following a fall late in the first, Stanford continued its rally and made it a 15-0 run to take a 31-18 advantage. Jordan Sanders would squash that surge with a smooth jumper at 6:50. That sparked a 7-0 USC rally to carve down the deficit to six. But Cardinal kept coming and would work its way out to a 45-30 lead by halftime.

Stanford got hot again to open the third, but the Trojans reined them back in. After a lengthy stretch on the sidelines with injury, Shalexxus Aaron knocked down her first 3-pointer since March 7, 2019 during an 11-2 USC rally that cut the margin to 13. The Cardinal caught fire again and constructed another push that put USC in a 20-point hole. Later Stanford nailed its ninth 3-pointer of the game in the fourth, while Sanders was bounced out of the game with her fourth foul. Rogers and Jackson kept plugging away as Jackson worked her way into double figures. Another 7-0 Stanford surge advanced the host's advantage, and the Cardinal would wrap up a final 86-59 win over the Trojans.

NOTABLE:
- SR F Jordan Sanders scored in double digits for the 10th game this season.
- SO C Angel Jackson tied her career high of four steals
- Jackson scored in double digits for thee seventh time this season.
- SO G Endyia Rogers scored in double digits for the ninth straight game.

NEXT: USC returns home to Galen Center for two more Pac-12 tilts. The Trojans are lined up to host Arizona first in a 4 p.m. meeting on Friday (Jan. 29) before turning to face Arizona State at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 31).