USC Women’s Basketball Takes 62-48 Loss To Texas At Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge

LOS ANGELES — The USC women’s basketball team had a tough battle in Dallas, taking a 62-48 loss to Texas at the Pac-12 US LBM Coast-to-Coast Challenge at American Airlines Arena. The defeat puts the Trojans at 9-2 overall, while the Longhorns improved to 7-4..

Rayah Marshall had nine rebounds in the first half for the Trojans, but USC was in a 29-22 halftime hole on 24-percent shooting in the first half. Texas was hitting at a 34-percent clip by the break to help build that halftime advantage in Dallas. Marshall would work her way into a double-double on the day as the Trojans won out on the boards 42-35 by the final buzzer, but the Longhorns’ scoring pace still outdid the Trojans, who shot a season-low 32 percent and committed a season-high 29 turnovers. Texas finished up at 38.2 percent overall and tallied 25 points off Trojan turnovers.

USC received a team-high 12 points apiece from Marshall and Kadi Sissoko along with a game-high 18 rebounds from Marshall. Texas was paced by a 22 points from Shaylee Gonzales and 16 from DeYona Gaston on the day.

The gates opened with each team playing disruptive defense to tamp down the scoring pace early. Rayah Marshall delivered four of USC’s first six points, including a pair of free throws that had USC within one at 7-6 for the first media timeout. Texas would find its shooting groove next, though, going on an 8-0 run to break into the lead before USC wrapped the first quarter with a pair of free throws from Okako Adika, and the Trojans trailed it 15-10 after 10 minutes of action. In the second frame, USC opened with a three-point play converted by Destiny Littleton, only to see the Longhorns push out to a 23-15 lead. Undeterred, USC landed a 3-pointer by Taylor Bigby to get a key lift. Marshall followed with a block next, and Bigby finished on the other end to tug the Trojans within three at 23-20 with 4:25 on the clock. That would be the last field goal to fall for USC in the half, however, as two Bigby free throws were countered by six points from Texas in that stretch, and the Longhorns took a 29-22 lead into the locker room for halftime.

Soon after hauling in her 10th rebound of the day, Marshall got tagged for back-to-back offensive fouls to squash a couple USC opportunities. Texas, meanwhile, knocked down a couple key threes to help build out a 43-28 advantage midway through the third. A scoring freeze by the Trojans saw USC come up empty from the floor…