Oregon women rally to beat USC 59-53

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) – Sabrina Ionescu scored 17 points, including a layup in the final minute to give Oregon its first lead of the game, and the Ducks rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to beat Southern California 59-53 on Friday night.

Ionescu’s jumper from just inside the arc rimmed out, but she grabbed the rebound and scored the putback to give the Ducks a 55-53 lead. The Trojans’ Alexis Lloyd then missed a 3-pointer, and Ruthy Hebard made a layup to stretch Oregon’s lead to 57-53 with 30 seconds to play. Sadie Edwards missed another 3-point shot for the Trojans, and Ionescu made a pair of free throws to seal it.

Hebard scored seven of her 14 points in the fourth quarter, and forced a turnover that led to Ionescu’s go-ahead basket. Lexi Bando also had 14 points for Oregon (12-5, 2-3 Pac-12).

Edwards scored 17 of her 23 points in the first half to lead the Trojans (10-6, 1-4 Pac-12), who have lost four straight.