LOS ANGELES — Oregon women’s basketball erased a 17-point deficit and beat No. 21 USC 71-66 after a stunning 26-8 fourth-quarter blitz at the Galen Center Tuesday night, Jan. 6, 2026. In Oregon vs USC, the Ducks scored the game’s final 14 points to flip a nine-point hole with 4:46 left into a Big Ten road win.
Oregon entered the fourth quarter down 58-45, then opened the period on a 12-0 run before USC briefly steadied itself. The closing sequence — highlighted in ESPN’s game recap — ended with Ari Long burying three 3-pointers in a 2:12 span, including the go-ahead shot with 31 seconds remaining.
Oregon vs USC swings on stops, rebounds and Long’s late shooting
Ehis Etute posted a career-high 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead Oregon, while Katie Fiso added 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Long finished with 11 points, but nine came in the final minutes as the Ducks finally broke through after trailing most of the night.
USC, meanwhile, raced out early and looked poised to snap its skid. The Trojans poured in 23 first-quarter points and closed the period on a 16-0 run, a burst noted in USC’s postgame recap. Kara Dunn scored 12 in the opening quarter and finished with 21 points and nine rebounds.
But the Trojans’ offense sputtered after halftime. Field Level Media, in a report published by Reuters, noted USC went 9 of 30 from the field and 2 of 11 from 3-point range in the second half.
Oregon coach Kelly Graves credited the defense that fueled the comeback. “We scored 50 points in that second half, but I think it was our defense that won the game,” Graves said.
The Ducks also got an unexpected halftime boost. Oregon’s team recap said former star Sabrina Ionescu spoke to the players at the break, when Oregon trailed 37-21.
USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb didn’t sugarcoat the collapse. As the Los Angeles Times reported, she said, “We were too casual.”
What Oregon vs USC means next
The win lifted Oregon to 14-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play, matching USC (10-5, 2-2) and giving the Ducks a signature result as the Big Ten schedule tightens. It also added a new chapter to a series that has swung sharply in recent years: USC took the league’s first Big Ten meeting between the schools, 66-53, on Dec. 7, 2024, according to ESPN’s game page, while Oregon routed the Trojans 73-45 on Jan. 1, 2023, per ESPN’s box score.
This season, USC has also been adjusting without All-American guard JuJu Watkins, who announced in September she would miss the 2025-26 season to focus on recovery, the school said.
Oregon returns home to host Michigan State on Sunday, while USC travels to Minnesota.
