LOS ANGELES — Long Beach State vs USC

The No. 6 USC women's basketball team faced its first true road game of the season, heading down to longtime rival Long Beach State for the Trojans' final nonconference game of the year. Down three players, USC gutted out a good win, netting an 85-77 victory over the Beach thanks in large part to a career-high 36 points from McKenzie Forbes and season-high scoring from Kayla Padilla (16 points), Roxane Makolo (nine points) and Kayla Williams (nine points). USC now takes a perfect 10-0 record into the start of conference play, which has the No. 6 Trojans heading across town to face an undefeated No. 2 UCLA on Dec. 30.

With a trio of Trojans sidelined for this one, USC still had the depth to keep the Beach at bay. McKenzie Forbes and Kayla Padilla were in double digits by halftime for USC, which shot 35.3 percent from the floor in those first 20 minutes. Long Beach State was a bit warmer, going 36.4 percent overall and leading on the boards 38-18. USC's firepower beyond the arc kept the Trojans out in front, with six threes landed as USC led it 40-31 by halftime. By the final buzzer, the Beach led the battle of the boards 49-39 and was still hotter from the floor at 42.2 percent, but the Trojans capitalized from the free-throw line (31-of-39) and from beyond the arc with 10 threes landed to make up ground on a day that saw USC shoot a season-low 33.3 percent overall.

Forbes finished up as the game's top scorer with her career-high 36 points, joined by Padilla's 16 points and 11 from Taylor Bigby for the Trojans in double digits on the day. Long Beach State received a team-high 17 points from Savannah Tucker along with 14 apiece from Lovely Sonnier and Sydney Woodley, with Jada Crawshaw adding 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Beach.

Taylor Bigby and Kayla Padilla established USC's 3-point threat early, combining forces to land a trio of threes in the first five minutes to help net an 11-9 Trojan advantage. Later in the quarter, USC manufactured a 7-0 run featuring five points from McKenzie Forbes and a pair of free throws from Dominique Darius to build out a19-14 lead. Kayla Williams dumped in a three to wrap the scoring in the first frame, giving USC a 22-16 lead after 10 minutes of play. Padilla punched up her third three of the day to kick off the second quarter, and Forbes delivered a couple more buckets to help get USC out to a double-digit lead. A 30-18 USC advantage was chipped down to a 33-26 margin before USC pushed out to lead it 38-26 with an effort capped by a steal and finish from Williams. Long Beach State got a bucket to go and benefitted from a couple trips to the line, and it was a 40-31 scoreline at the end of the first half.

USC got back out to a double-digit lead on a 3-pointer from Forbes at 7:45, but the Beach battled back and crafted a 6-0 rally to get within five, down 48-43 with 4:41 on the clock in the third. With 2:10 to go in the frame, the Beach were within four at 52-48, only to see USC's Forbes and Roxane Makolo stand tall at the stripe while Bigby nailed another three and Makolo scored her first bucket to take the Trojans ahead 59-50 in the final minute. Long Beach State struck before the buzzer, though, and it was a 59-52 USC lead entering the fourth. Forbes kept firing in the final frame, working her way out to a 30-point day in a 7-0 USC surge to lead it 71-57 at 6:27. The Beach bit back with a 5-0 push to make it 71-62 at the midway point of the fourth, and then clawed back to a four-point margin, down 75-71 with 2:20 to go. Makolo lit a fuse for USC with a score that was followed by two gutsy free throws from Williams to net a 79-71 lead with 1:43 on the clock. Free throws would be all that fell the rest of the way, with Forbes going 4-for-4 from the stripe in the final 17 seconds to help lock in a final 85-77 USC victory.

NEXT:
After a short holiday break, the USC sets up for its Pac-12 opener at UCLA with a 5 p.m. clash against the Bruins on Dec. 30 at Pauley Pavilion.

NOTABLE:
- FR Malia Samuels made her first career start today.
- GS Kayla Padilla made a season-high four threes and scored a season-high 16 points.
- GS McKenzie Forbes scored a career-high 36 points.
- JR Clarice Akynwako matched her season high of eight rebounds.
- In a series dating back to the 1973-74 season, USC is now even at 28-28 all-time against Long Beach State, now with wins in the past 12 meetings.
- USC shot a season-low 33.3 percent from the floor.
- Now 10-0 overall, USC has recorded back-to-back 9-0 starts for just the second time, going back to the 1983-84 (10-0) and 1984-85 (10-0) seasons.
- USC had three players out for today's game: Rayah Marshall, JuJu Watkins and Kaitlyn Davis.