In USC's first-ever trip to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana which was packed with over 12,000 fans the Trojans defeated the Hoosiers (12-6, 4-3) in a thrilling 73-66 matchup.
Indiana had four Hoosiers in double figures, led by senior Sydney Parrish with 16 points and 10 rebounds along with 13 points from Chloe Moore-McNeil and 10 each from Karoline Striplin and Yarden Garzon.
All five starters for USC (17-1, 7-0) scored in double digits today, led by All-American JuJu Watson with 22 points. Kiki Irafen and Kennedy Smith both had 14 points while Rayah Marshall had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Oregon State senior transfer Talia von Oelhoffen also added 10 points for the Trojan in their victory.
“(Indiana) did a really good job sending multiple bodies at JuJu (Watkins), so when they were turning the ball over, it was vital for us to capitalize off that. We got a lot off into transition,” USC’s Rayah Marshall said.
Indiana looked good and led for a huge chunk of the ball game but at the end of the day a loss is a loss and the Hoosiers already entered Sunday as a "bubble team". ESPN’s Women’s Bracketology had the Hoosiers as the No. 9 seed before their loss to USC.
The three main reasons why IU loss were shooting, pace and turnovers. IU shot 31 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, while USC shot 46 percent. Indiana had four more turnovers in the fourth quarter and sharpshooter Yarden Garzon was 3 for 17 from the field and 2 for 11 from 3-point range.
The Hoosiers next match up is to Eugene, Oregon for a 9 p.m. ET tipoff on Friday.