USC women upset unbeaten UCLA in 2OTs
LOS ANGELES — Aliyah Jeune scored 27 points, Alissa Pili added 19 and Southern California upset No. 7 UCLA 70-68 in double overtime on Friday night.
UCLA came in as the nation’s only remaining unbeaten team.
The Bruins (16-1, 5-1 Pac12) had a 64-59 lead with 3:17 remaining in the second OT before the Trojans (9-8, 1-5) rallied, going on a 10-2 run to close the game. Pili’s threepoint play with 27 seconds remaining put USC in the lead for good.
UCLA had a chance to tie, but Chantal Horvat missed a layup with 2 seconds left. Natalie Chou forced double overtime with a 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer.
Jeune and Alissa Pili also had double-doubles. Pili had 17 rebounds, and Jeune added 13.
Japreece Dean scored 24 points and Charisma Osborne had 20 for UCLA, who were missing star forward Michaela Onyenwere.
The Bruins trailed 36-19 less than two minutes into the third quarter before storming back. Osborne keyed the surge with 11 points in the third quarter as UCLA went on a 16-2 run to get within three five minutes later.
USC held a 43-41 advantage at the end of the third quarter, but Osborne gave UCLA its first lead since late in the first with a 3-pointer 28 seconds into the fourth. The Bruins would go up 5348 with 3:38 remaining before the Trojans scored five straight to tie. Kayla Overbeck’s free throws with 50.9 seconds remaining knotted it at 53 and sent it into overtime.
UCLA scored the game’s first six points, only to see USC lead 16-15 at the end of the first quarter. Japreece Dean made a pair of free throws to get the Bruins within 18-17 with 9:01 remaining in the second quarter. It would be their final points of the half, though, as the Trojans scored the final 12 points to take a 30-17 lead at halftime. Pili scored four points during the run while Caldwell and Jeune made back-to-back 3-pointers.
STEPPING UP Onyenwere, who is third in the Pac-12 in scoring with 18.9 points per game, sprained her ankle during practice earlier in the week and was in sweats on the Bruins bench. Horvat took the junior’s place in the starting lineup and had nine points with 12 rebounds.
BIG PICTURE UCLA: The Bruins began the game seven of 36 from the field and went 14:36 between field goals. But they made nine of 12 during one stretch of the third quarter to rally back.
USC: It is the first time since 2007 that the Trojans have won a game in double overtime. They had lost two since.
UP NEXT
UCLA: hosts Washington on Jan. 24.
USC: hosts Washington
State on Jan. 24.