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SALT LAKE CITY — Alissa Pili had no problem going up against her former team.
In the first meeting against USC since her transfer over the offseason, Pili scored 17 points in the first half as No. 9 Utah controlled a 49-33 lead at the break to set the tone for the Utes. Pili hit from deep and was an anchor for the offense in the post en route to a 42-26 advantage over the Trojans in the paint.
Pili finished with a game-high 21 points and helped Utah pull away for an 83-73 win over a visiting USC team that struggled to keep pace with the home team's high tempo and high percentage shooting night for much of the night.
"A lot of people were asking me about this game, if I had any feelings towards it or anything like that," Pili said. "I mean, I have a lot of love for my people back at USC, so it was cool to see some familiar faces and just compete against some of my old friends. I kind of just looked at this game as any other game — just going in there to win and focus on the team's needs."
"Alissa was exactly the same this week as she's been, and I think that's a testament to just her competitiveness and also just her consistency — like, she's incredibly consistent on the floor and off," Utah head coach Lynne Roberts said. "It's not easy to do."
The Utes (17-2, 7-2 Pac-12) built up a 20-point lead late in the third quarter and shot over 60% for much of the game, but went cold to start the fourth quarter and allowed USC (15-5, 5-4, Pac-12) to cut the home team's deficit to 6 points.
After committing only three turnovers in the first half, Utah committed five during that late stretch to complicate a team that suddenly got out of sync and couldn't hit shots. Utah forced shots at times and stopped moving the ball around to get better looks, which only added to the momentum USC created.
"I think, defensively, we weren't as sharp as we could have been in that second half, and that that kind of affected our offense," Roberts said. "I felt like we were a little bit selfish — that isn't the right word, but we weren't moving the ball like we had been. So learning while winning is the best thing, but I'm proud of our team."
Kennady McQueen helped stave off the USC push with a deep 3-pointer that pushed the lead back up to nine with 3:44 left to play, but USC refused to back down and drained a 3-pointer on the other end.
USC employed a full-court press to speed up Utah and put pressure on the home team who shot only 40% in the second half. And for much of the final few minutes of the fourth quarter, it worked. Utah did well to break the press, but it kept the home team from ultimately doing what it wanted.
Though USC had its success late, it was a 55% shooting performance from the free-throw line that ultimately doomed the visiting team. The Trojans had a chance to make it a 5-point game with just over a minute left to play, but Kayla Williams missed both attempts and Utah got the rebound.
But McQueen came up clutch again and hit a 3-pointer to give Utah a 10-point lead and some breathing room. USC ran out of gas and couldn't break the double-digit lead again, but finished the night shooting 47% from the field in a much-improved second half.
"I felt like we took our foot off the gas a little bit, and we can't do that in this conference against anybody, especially against a really good team that's playing at a high level," Roberts said. "I'm proud of us for finding a way, and it's probably good for us to to get pushed back and figure out how to still win by 10."
McQueen finished the night with 17 points, which included going 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and two rebounds and two assists in the win. Gianna Kneepkens added 16 points and four assists on a night when Utah shot 53% from the field.
The Trojans were led in scoring by Destiny Littleton and Rayah Marshall's 15 points apiece. Marshall added 11 points for the double-double effort and Littleton added three 3-pointers in the loss. Okako Adiko scored 9 of her 12 points in the second half, which included some clutch 3-pointers, but fouled out late in the game to take out a 3-point threat.
