LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The Fighting Illini Women’s Basketball came up short in Sunday’s game against No. 4 USC. After a hard-fought battle, USC beat Illinois 76 to 66 in Los Angeles in a back-and-forth battle for the majority of the game.
USC’s sophomore guard Juju Watkins led the team with 22 points to give USC its 14th conference win.
Takeaways
USC: The Trojans showed why they are ranked as a top-five team in the NCAA. For most of the game, USC was battling point-for-point neck-and-neck with Illinois. But the Trojan’s high dominant defense swung the momentum and gave them the edge to pull away at the end of the game.
Illinois: Illinois showed that they can compete with one of the best teams in the nation. For Illinois to see wins, they will have to play a near-perfect game against highly ranked teams. The final score may not show it, but Illinois had the chance to win the game — even if multiple turnovers led to them losing by double digits in the end.
Key moment
After being down by 11 in the 2nd quarter, Illinois was able to tie the game midway through the 3rd quarter. As the Illini tried to find a way to take the lead, they made sloppy mistakes that USC took advantage of. Just like that, Illinois saw themselves down ten going into the 4th quarter.
Key stat
Kendall Bostic contributed 18 points and 16 rebounds, giving her 52 double-doubles in her Illinois career. She is one double-double away from tying the program record previously set by Jenna Smith in 2010. She has the potential to tie the record at home in her final game of the regular season on Sunday.
Up Next
Illinois’s final regular season will take place Sunday afternoon against the Michigan Wolverines at State Farm Center. As for USC, all eyes will be on them as they fight for the No. 1 spot in the Big Ten standings against No. 3 UCLA on Saturday night in Los Angeles for the Battle of LA.