Ohio State won’t be bringing home any victories from its Los Angeles road trip.
The eighth-ranked Buckeyes (20-3, 9-3 Big Ten) had two opportunities to earn a top-10 win over one of the Big Ten’s top two teams but suffered double-digit losses in both contests, following up a 65-52 loss to UCLA on Wednesday with an 84-63 loss to No. 7 USC (21-2, 11-1 Big Ten) at the Galen Center on Saturday.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #8 OHIO STATE | 11 | 15 | 19 | 18 | 63 |
| #7 USC | 14 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 84 |
A lack of rebounding doomed the Buckeyes as they were outrebounded 62-30 by the Trojans. Ohio State also made only 20 of 68 field goal attempts (29.4%), the exact same shooting numbers it had against UCLA.
While USC star JuJu Watkins went just 5-of-21 from the field en route to scoring 17 points, Ohio State had no answer for Trojans forward Kiki Iriafen, who was the star of the night with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Just as it did against UCLA, Ohio State’s turnover-forcing defense propelled the Buckeyes to an early lead as Ohio State forced five USC turnovers in the game’s first five minutes and started the game on a 7-2 run. The Trojans outscored the Buckeyes 12-4 for the rest of the first quarter, however, to finish the first frame with a 14-11 lead.
Despite an 0-for-8 first half from the field for Watkins, who scored her only four points of the first half on free throws, USC led for the entire second quarter, ultimately taking a 34-26 lead into halftime. Free throws and rebounding made the difference for the Trojans as they outrebounded Ohio State 30-15 in the first two quarters and made 13 of 14 first-half free throws while Ohio State drew only three first-half free-throw attempts, all ending with makes by Taylor Thierry.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | USC |
|---|---|---|
| 63 | POINTS | 84 |
| 20-68 (29.4%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 27-68 (39.7%) |
| 2-11 (18.2%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 7-19 (36.8%) |
| 21-26 (80.8%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 23-27 (85.2%) |
| 10 | TURNOVERS | 23 |
| 30 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 62 |
| 6 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 19 |
| 24 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 43 |
| 5 | BENCH POINTS | 12 |
| 6 | BLOCKS | 10 |
| 13 | STEALS | 5 |
| 14 | ASSISTS | 18 |
Ohio State got to the line more frequently in the third quarter, converting 10 of 14 free throw attempts, but the Trojans’ lead never dipped below eight points. USC took a 59-45 lead into the fourth quarter as it shot 10-of-16 from the field while outrebounding Ohio State 12-4 in the first 10 minutes out of halftime.
USC maintained a double-digit lead for the entire fourth quarter, ultimately finishing with a 21-point advantage on the scoreboard to hand the Buckeyes their most lopsided loss of the year to date.
Despite back-to-back defeats, Ohio State remains in third place in the Big Ten standings after winning 20 of its first 21 games of the season, though the Buckeyes now sit 2.5 games behind first-place UCLA and two games behind second-place USC with both teams holding head-to-head tiebreakers over Ohio State.
After spending the past week in Los Angeles, Ohio State will now be home for the next week as the Buckeyes will play back-to-back games at the Schottenstein Center against Minnesota on Thursday (7:30 p.m., Peacock) and Iowa on President’s Day (Noon, FOX on Monday, Jan. 17).
