by LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The USC women’s basketball team clawed its way out of a 10-point hold in the fourth quarter to register an impressive comeback win at Galen Center. A 3-pointer in the final minute from freshman Endyia Rogers gave USC its first lead since the first quarter, while Kayla Overbeck steered the ship with her rally in the fourth. Two last free throws from the senior sealed it, and USC’s victory was in the books with a 50-47 win over Nevada at the Women of Troy Classic at Galen Center. USC improves to 7-3 overall with its fourth straight win, while Nevada goes to 5-5.
Both teams were sluggish in the first half of action, but it was the Trojans that faced the more severe struggles in shooting just 20.6 percent from the floor. Nevada was hitting at 34.6 percent, and had the added advantage of landing three 3-pointers to an empty 3-point bucket for USC. The Trojans carved the deficit down to one during the third, but Nevada clicked off 3-pointers No. 5 and 6 to pad out its lead, and the Wolf Pack was up by 10 early in the fourth. Undeterred USC mounted a 14-4 comeback in five minutes, with Overbeck accounting for half of USC’s points in the rally to pull even with 4:05 to go. Endyia Rogers’ 3-pointer with 28 seconds left bumped USC into the lead, and the Trojans hung on for the win. USC finished out the game shooting 37.5 thanks to the big second half in which the Trojans shot 63.6 from the floor. Nevada wrapped up at 30 percent after cooling to 26.5 in the second half.
USC’s impressive comeback rally was anchored by Overbeck, who scored all 13 of her points in the second half — 11 of which came in the final six minutes. USC also received a game-high 15 points from Endyia Rogers, who had 11 in the second half including that clutch 3-pointer. Alissa Pili (Inupiaq) hauled in 10 rebounds for USC. Nevada’s Da’Ja Hamilton led the Wolf Pack in scoring with 11 points.
After USC’s posts Kayla Overbeck and Alissa Pill connected to level things 5-5, Nevada struck off on a 6-0 run to get into the lead. Angel Jackson snapped the run, but the Wolf Pack would wind up ahead 12-9 after 10 minutes of action. In the second, each USC bucket was answered by a Nevada strike in the opening stretch, but then the Trojans came up empty for the final four minutes. Nevada would lead it 22-15 at halftime.
USC got a much-needed spark from Endyia Rogers, who scored back-to-back buckets and then hit Kayla Overbeck to get USC a 6-0 run and breathe some life back into the Trojan gameplay. After a strike from Aliyah Jeune, Alissa Pili stepped back and nailed the Trojans’ first 3-pointer of the game to get USC within one, down 27-26 with 6:05 on the clock. The Wolf Pack countered back, running its 3-point tally up to six to build out the Nevada lead to 37-29 at the end of the third. It was a 10-point deficit for the Trojans, sparking a winning rally by USC. Overbeck scored 11 points in the fourth. She had six in an 8-0 USC run to knot it up 43-43 with 4:05 to go. With 28 seconds left, Rogers drained an enormous 3-pointer for USC’s first lead since the first two minutes of the game, taking the Trojans ahead 48-47. Pili pulled down her 10th rebound to squash Nevada’s next possession, and USC held on, getting two more free throws from Overbeck with 9 ticks left to close out a 50-47 USC comeback win.
