Southern California guard Kayla Williams, left, tries to drive to the basket while defended by Stanford guard Indya Nivar during the first half at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Fri Feb 17, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Friday, February 17, 2023

No. 3 Stanford held off a late challenge from visiting Southern California Friday, as the Cardinal emerged with a 50-47 Pac-12 women’s basketball win over the No. 25 Trojans at Maples Pavilion.

Cameron Brink paced the Cardinal (25-3 overall, 13-2 Pac-12) with 12 points, ten rebounds and six blocked shots, Indya Nivar and Kiki Iriafen each scored nine points, and Haley Jones had eight points, ten rebounds and five assists.

USC (19-7 overall, 9-6 Pac-12) was led by Destiny Littleton with 15 points, followed by Okako Adika with 13 points and nine rebounds. Clarice Akunwafo finished with 12 rebounds.

Stanford led by one point after the first quarter and built a 32-26 halftime lead. The Cardinal led 40-29 at 7:55 of the third quarter on Hannah Jump’s 3-pointer. After Brink hit a pair of free throws at 8:05 of the fourth, the Trojans went on an 10-2 run capped by Okako Adika’s two free throws at 2:42, and her 20-foot jumper pulled USC to within 48-45 with 1:43 remaining.

Brink’s layup at 1:09 of the fourth quarter put the Cardinal up 50-45. Stanford’s Talana Lepolo committed a shooting foul with 37 seconds left, sending Littleton to the line. Littleton made both free throws, cutting the Stanford lead to 50-47.

USC had one more possession with three seconds remaining. Littleton missed a 23-foot 3-point attempt with one second left, and Nivar grabbed the defensive rebound to secure the win.

Attendance for this Top 25 matchup was 6,343. The Cardinal host UCLA on Monday.