Ohio State Remains Too Strong for USC

With all the progress the USC women’s basketball team has made the past year and a half, the Trojans still haven’t defeated a good team when the game was there for the taking.

USC was good enough to hang around for most of Sunday’s game against No. 4-ranked Ohio State, but the Buckeyes eventually pulled off a 68-57 victory at the Sports Arena.

Ohio State (6-0) was the last ranked team USC (5-3) would face before conference play, and Coach Mark Trakh wanted the Trojans to show how they were building on the success of last year’s 20-victory season.

But USC wasn’t good enough to overcome 15 turnovers, being outrebounded 42-37, and shooting 34.9% from the field.

“We’re getting there,” USC Coach Mark Trakh said. “There were a lot of things that were encouraging. They’re a darn good team and we were right there in the last two to three minutes.

“We’ve got to win a game like this -- that’s the bottom line. Our effort was good; our performance just has to get a little better.”

Camille LeNoir led USC with 15 points. She said the Trojans -- who were tied, 42-42, with 13:59 left and still trailed by only four, at 57-53, with 3:45 remaining -- let a chance for an upset slip away.

“There were just little plays that, if we had gotten them, it would have turned the game around,” LeNoir said. “When we tied them at 42, I thought the momentum was on our side. But we started making turnovers, they made some big shots, and they were able to pull away because we had to start fouling.”

Brandie Hoskins had a game-high 20 points for Ohio State (7-0). Jessica Davenport added 15 points and 18 rebounds for the Buckeyes, who led, 33-28, at halftime.

Mike Terry

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No. 6 Rutgers 65, Princeton 56 -- Cappie Pondexter scored 21 of her game-high 25 points after halftime to lead the Scarlet Knights (8-0) over the Tigers (5-3) at Princeton, N.J.

Pondexter, who made seven of 14 shots overall and nine of nine free throws, gave Rutgers the lead for good with a three-point play with 7:27 left. The Scarlet Knights had struggled late in the first half when the Tigers went on a 15-6 run and took a 28-26 lead at the break.

Rutgers Coach C. Vivian Stringer used full-court pressure in the second half to push Princeton into nine-for-29 shooting.

No. 9 Maryland 92, Arizona 67 -- Shay Doron had 12 points and 13 assists to direct the Terrapins (8-1) over the Wildcats (4-3) at College Park, Md.

No. 24 Purdue 70, Valparaiso 55 -- Katie Gearlds scored 28 points, making six of nine three-point shots, to lead the Boilermakers (6-2) over the Crusaders (4-4) at Fort Wayne, Ind.

No. 25 North Carolina State 76, Delaware State 58 -- The Wolfpack (6-2) shot 61% in the second half to beat the Hornets (4-2) at Raleigh, N.C., after the game was tied, 34-34, at halftime.