4 Arizona last Sunday, USC suffered a 71-63 home loss to Washington State on Friday after leading the Trojans to 17 points in the first half.

USC's defense was quickly impenetrable, forcing WSU to miss its first 11 shots. The Trojans' offense started off slow but eventually found a run, and USC took a 17-3 lead at the end of the first quarter. WSU's three points were the lowest scored by a team in a quarter in program history.

In the second quarter, USC was able to extend its lead to 17 points and lead 25-8. From that point on, the Cougars slowly snatched the lead and managed to narrow it to seven at halftime in a score of 37-30.

"They became attackers," said USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb. "He took the pressure off the defense which really bothered us."

USC struggled to maintain its slim lead for much of the time. The main culprits of USC's downfall were Trojan's pedestrian shooting percentage of 40.4% and USC's 14 turnover.

With two minutes left in the third quarter, the Cougars took their first lead of the game 50-48 on a three-pointer by junior guard Johanna Tedder. USC's offense had slowed and full momentum was with WSU.

"We have to be tougher," Gottlieb said. "Washington State is a little more experienced than us. I think we were too casual, especially when we had the lead.

WSU led 52–50 at the end of the third quarter, and the last taste of USC's lead came from a three-pointer from freshman guard Bella Perkins, who put the Trojans 53–52 ahead. Since then, the Cougars have gone 13-3 and eventually ran away with a 71-63 win.

Perkins and sophomore forward Jordan Jenkins were the only Trojans to cement USC's demise in the fourth quarter. Jenkins led the Trojans in scoring and posted his second game of the season with 20 or more points. Jenkins was also very skilled, scoring 8 of 11 field goal attempts.

"She's a clever finisher and she finds ways to get in her place," Gottlieb said. "Even if teams try to take her away, she still finds ways to be effective."

One of the few positives from the damage was USC's stellar shooting from the three-point line. The Trojans made 11 of 22 three-point attempts and Perkins contributed five of the three-pointers. As a true freshman, Perkins will be a key player for the program's future.

"He's not afraid," Gottlieb said of Perkins. "They were really big shots for us and thus gave us the lead at the start and kept us in it when they started to take away."

The loss dropped USC to 8–5 in the season and 1–2 in the Pac-12. The Trojans will next face the Washington Huskies at 12 noon on Sunday. at the Gallen Center.