For much of Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament semifinal against Michigan, the USC women’s basketball team looked nothing like the one that won the Big Ten regular season title. The Trojans came out sloppy, struggling mightily on the offensive end in the first half.
As a result, USC found itself in a dog fight for the second consecutive day at the Big Ten Tournament. After narrowly escaping Indiana in the quarterfinals on Friday, the Trojans spent much of Saturday’s matchup playing from behind. USC trailed by as many as nine to a heavy underdog Michigan team, and were still behind by seven more than halfway through the third quarter.
Late in the fourth, however, the Trojans finally found their stride. With the game tied at 60 with a little over six minutes left to play, USC went on a 14-0 run to effectively seal the contest. The Trojans were then able to seal the game at the free throw line, hanging on for an 82-70 victory.
It was a great effort in crunch time by USC. But Lindsay Gottlieb’s team will have to play more consistent going forward. Against elite opponents in the NCAA Tournament, the Trojans will not be able to afford waiting until the final frame to show up.
USC is still right where they want to be this time of year: Big Ten regular season champions, playing for the conference tournament title tomorrow afternoon, and with a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament essentially secured. But the Trojans know that they need to be better if they want to make a deep March run.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC women’s basketball confronts neutral-site weirdness, inspired foes
