But as much as the Sun Devils tried to overcome shooting struggles in its game against USC, the Trojans had the final answer when Alyson Miura hit the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer for USC to win 60-58 Thursday at Desert Financial Arena.
ASU nearly held the lead when guard Jade Loville rebounded her own missed shot and passed the ball to forward Mael Gilles, who used her height for an easy layup at the rim with 15 seconds left. But as ASU swarmed USC in the final seconds of the game, USC guard Kyra White managed to find an open Miura for the final shot of the game. USC finished shooting 9-of-15 from the 3-point line.
With only eight players available for ASU, the Sun Devils went in shorthanded against USC. A season-ending injury to Jayde Van Hyfte last weekend cut the depth at the forward position to three available players, while guard Gabriela Bosquez remains day-to-day, on top of previous injuries to forward Maggie Besselink and Isadora Sousa.
The trend continued for ASU in the game as the Sun Devils didn’t hold leads to close out each quarter and didn’t establish a wider margin despite 14 second-chance points through the first three quarters. USC made ASU pay for it at the end of the game when the Trojans scored eight of the last 10 points in the game. ASU shot 29.9 percent with 20 field goals on 67 attempts.
USC had cuts to its depth in the game as well, playing without top scorer, Jordyn Jenkins, who is day-to-day. The Trojans also lost forward Jordan Sanders at 6:17 in the fourth quarter after fouling out. Sanders at the time led USC with 17 points in 27 minutes of play. Guard Tera Reed took control in the fourth quarter, making all four shot attempts with ten points. Reed finished with 17 points, while forward Rayah Marshall added 13 points.