The Arizona women’s basketball team dropped the opener of its Los Angeles trip Thursday night, falling to USC 78-62.
UA fell to 14-14 overall and 3-13 in Pac-12 play with the loss, while USC improved to 15-11 overall and 9-6 in league action.
Sophomore forward Erica Barnes paced the Wildcats with 20 points, her
second-highest output of the season, shooting 8 for 11 from the field and
4 for 5 from the free-throw line. She also had two rebounds and one
steal in 27 minutes off the bench. Junior guard Davellyn Whyte had 13
points, eight rebounds, two steals and one assist. Senior guard Reiko
Thomas chipped in with 10 points, five rebounds and four steals, and freshman center Aley Rohde collected seven points, seven rebounds and a
career-high four assists.
The Wildcats shot 38.3 percent from the field (23 for 60), 29.4 percent from3 -point range (5 for 17) and 68.8 percent from the charity stripe
(11 for 16). UA was dominated in rebounding 50-32, giving up 21
offensive boards to USC, who scored 22 second-chance
points. UA had 19 turnovers to USC’s 16, but both squads scored 17 points
off mishaps.
"They beat us in all facets of the boards," head coach Niya Butts said. "We gave them 21 offensive rebounds and they scored 22 points. They also scored 17 points off our turnovers. We just can’t afford to do that.
"We shoot really well in the first half but were down. A lot of that has to do with our turnovers and our inability to rebound. Until we correct our rebounding, the results will be the same. There’s a level of physical play that has to be there, and right now, we’re not committed to getting that done every possession."
For Arizona, the starting lineup included senior guard Shanita Arnold, freshman guard Erin Butler, Rohde, freshman guard Layana White and Whyte. Thomas had the most minutes off the bench with 28.
For USC, Stefanie Gilbreath led the attack with 18 points and was one of four players to score in double figures. The Women of Troy shot 39.1 percent from the field (27 for 69), 58.3 percent from the behind the arc (7 for 12) and 70.8 percent from the free-throw line (17 for 24).
