WBB: Mistakes prove costly in loss to USC

Nearly a season-high in turnovers costs Utah a chance to gain some momentum heading into the Pac-12 tournament next week

They battles all game, and when Brynna Maxwell knocked down a three-pointer with 3:42 left in the game against USC, Utah found itself down by just three points.

But that was as close the Utes would get the rest of the way, eventually falling 69-66 to USC on Friday night. The loss negates Utah's ability to gain some much needed momentum after taking down No. 21 Arizona State last week.

Final Score: USC 69, Utah 66#GoUtes // #Elevate pic.twitter.com/q6nXsyg5gW

— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) February 29, 2020

Brynna Maxwell finished with a team-high 18 points, Danessha Provo added 11 while Maurane Corbin finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.

Q3 | 6:30 | USC 35, Utah 30

AND ONE! Watch more on @Pac12Network. #GoUtes // #Elevate pic.twitter.com/WYS6Sw4Djh

— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) February 29, 2020

It was a slow start for the Utes on the road, committing eight turnovers and shooting 1-for-8 from beyond the arc, falling behind 17-9 after the opening 10 minutes. 

But Utah recovered, thanks to back-to-back layups by Corbin cut the Utes' deficit to just four late in the half. Once again, that was as close as Utah would get, trailing 30-23 at the break.

The third quarter is when the Utes began the comeback. 

After falling behind by nine, a three-point play by Maxwell and a three-pointer by Andrea Torres helped aide a 7-0 run that got the Utes back into the game by trailing 35-33. 

USC pushed the lead back to seven entering the fourth quarter, but then cut the deficit to three again following Maxwell's three-pointer prior to the final media timeouts. After USC pushed the lead back to seven again, a Provo three-pointer cut the deficit to four with 39 seconds to play.

Provo had a chance to cut the deficit to two, but she missed a three-pointer on the following possession. Maxwell rounded out the scoring with three free throws and a three-pointer to end the game.

Alissa Pili led USC with 29 points while Endyia Rogers added 18 points in the win.

Utah returns to action on Sunday when it faces No. 9 UCLA — the final regular season game before the Pac-12 tournament next week. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.