LOS ANGELES – The USC Trojans (16-8, 7-7 Pac-12) protected their home court at the Galen Center on Sunday afternoon by shooting their way past Arizona (6-19, 2-12 Pac-12) by a score of 78-52. Sadie Edwards led the Trojans with a game-high 23 points.
Not only did USC shoot the lights out, (49% from the field, 41% from three & 92% from the line), they did a good job on the glass as well, outrebounding Arizona 41-26 and outscoring the Wildcats 34-14 in the paint. The Trojans also had a number of easy buckets, scoring 14 fast break points.
For Arizona, Sam Thomas had one of her best games of the season, scoring a career-high 22 points and hauling in eight rebounds. The freshman knocked down a career-high five three-pointers and shot 50% from the field and from three. Thomas also finished the game with three steals.
USC got out to a 19-12 lead in the first quarter thanks to three three-pointers while shooting 46% and holding Arizona to 29% shooting. USC was red hot in the second quarter, shooting 11-17 from the field, including 4-9 from downtown en route to a 28-11 quarter. Heading into halftime, the Trojans led the Wildcats 47-23.
Arizona was able to hold USC to 17 points in the third quarter, but scored just 10 themselves as the Trojans extended their lead to 64-33 at the end of three. The Wildcats finished the game strong, especially Thomas who scored 14 points in the fourth quarter with four three-pointers, but it wasn’t enough as USC was able to hold on for the victory.
Next weekend is rivalry weekend, with the first matchup against Arizona State on Friday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. MST in Wells Fargo Arena.
