TUCSON, Ariz. – Four players scored in double figures, but Arizona women's basketball (12-16, 4-13) fell to USC (9-19, 6-11), 74-62 on Friday night at McKale Center.
Junior Erica Barnes (Sacramento, Calif.) led the Wildcats with 15 points, while senior Davellyn Whyte (Phoenix, Ariz.) and junior Carissa Crutchfield (Ft. Gibson, Okla.) had 13 and freshman Keyahndra Cannon (San Diego, Calif.) added 10.
Whyte also had nine assists and seven steals on a night where she was honored for becoming the second player in Arizona women's basketball history to score 2,000+ points.
As a team, Arizona forced 18 turnovers and only committed 13, including zero in the second half.
"We came out the first half and didn't do anything close to what we wanted to do, especially on defense," Arizona Head Coach Niya Butts said. "That first half was a nightmare of a deal, but we came out in the second half and played much better. Ultimately, they made more plays than we did. We couldn't close the deal tonight."
In the first half, UA came out strong with two three-pointers, but USC went on a 17-1 run to create a 14-point deficit. Arizona went on short runs, but the Trojans answered and led, 39-26 at halftime.
The Wildcats came to play in the second half, executing two 8-0 runs and narrowing the score to within one at 51-50. USC responded and despite being outscored in the second half, closed out the game, 74-62.
Senior Christina Marinacci led USC with 16 points and 18 rebounds and junior Cassie Harberts added 23 points and 11 rebounds.
The Wildcats will close their regular season to host No. 16 UCLA Bruins for senior day at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 3.
"We know we can't stay still," Butts said. "We have to keep going and keep working to get better. That's what we're going to do as both a team and staff. We have one more home game for our seniors on Sunday and we're going to try and put them in a position to win."
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