Northwestern University Athletics
Thursday, February 5
Evanston, Ill.
8 p.m. CT
Northwestern
8-15,2-10Big Ten
65
vs
83
USC
14-9,6-6Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Southern California
28
25
14
16
83
Northwestern
16
12
17
20
65
Photo by: Christina Lin/Northwestern Athletics
Sullivan, Harter Lead Northwestern In 83-65 Setback To USC
2/5/2026 11:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Duo combines for 44 points
EVANSTON, Ill. (February 5, 2026) — Senior forward Grace Sullivan and junior guard Casey Harter scored a combined 44 points as Northwestern dropped an 83-65 decision to USC on Thursday night in Welsh-Ryan Arena.
"USC played really well tonight defensively and forced us to run our offense a lot further out than we wanted to," head coach Joe McKeown said. "We kept fighting back, and then we made runs. But you see the talent on their team. They were really hard to score on at times."
Gallery: (2-5-2026) Women's Basketball vs. USC
Sullivan led the Wildcats (8-15, 2-10 B1G) with a team-high 24 points and five rebounds. The senior knocked down 10 of her 17 attempts from the field. Harter tallied 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
Harter canned a pair of threes as she hit double figures for the fifth time in the past seven games.
"I'm really proud of her development, and she's a captain in a quiet way," McKeown said of Harter. "She does everything right on and off the court. She's one of the more underrated players in this league."
Senior guard Caroline Lau posted six points, four rebounds and nine assists. Lau, the nation's assist leader, has dished out at least nine assists in 12 games this season.
The Trojans (14-9, 6-6 B1G) began the game on the front foot, building a 53-28 halftime lead.
Northwestern dialed up its defensive pressure after the break, holding USC to 14 points in the third quarter.
"We just really wanted to focus on locking them down on defense and stopping them from running their plays like they were doing in the first half," Sullivan said. "We locked in, and we knew if we wanted to stay in the game, it just took communication and understanding where to be at the right time."
While the Wildcats couldn't launch a full-fledged comeback, they outscored the Trojans by a 37-30 margin in the latter 20 minutes. Northwestern held USC to a 33.3% field goal percentage and a 3-of-19 clip from three-point-range in the second half.
"Our effort and our fight was there," McKeown said. "We have to be able to defend for 40 minutes. Proud of our defense and our effort. We played what I think is potentially one of the best teams in the country."
The Wildcats will return to action at home on Thursday, Feb. 12 against No. 8 Michigan. Tip-off from Welsh-Ryan Arena is slated for 8 p.m. CT on Peacock.
"USC played really well tonight defensively and forced us to run our offense a lot further out than we wanted to," head coach Joe McKeown said. "We kept fighting back, and then we made runs. But you see the talent on their team. They were really hard to score on at times."
Sullivan led the Wildcats (8-15, 2-10 B1G) with a team-high 24 points and five rebounds. The senior knocked down 10 of her 17 attempts from the field. Harter tallied 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
Harter canned a pair of threes as she hit double figures for the fifth time in the past seven games.
"I'm really proud of her development, and she's a captain in a quiet way," McKeown said of Harter. "She does everything right on and off the court. She's one of the more underrated players in this league."
Senior guard Caroline Lau posted six points, four rebounds and nine assists. Lau, the nation's assist leader, has dished out at least nine assists in 12 games this season.
The Trojans (14-9, 6-6 B1G) began the game on the front foot, building a 53-28 halftime lead.
Northwestern dialed up its defensive pressure after the break, holding USC to 14 points in the third quarter.
"We just really wanted to focus on locking them down on defense and stopping them from running their plays like they were doing in the first half," Sullivan said. "We locked in, and we knew if we wanted to stay in the game, it just took communication and understanding where to be at the right time."
While the Wildcats couldn't launch a full-fledged comeback, they outscored the Trojans by a 37-30 margin in the latter 20 minutes. Northwestern held USC to a 33.3% field goal percentage and a 3-of-19 clip from three-point-range in the second half.
"Our effort and our fight was there," McKeown said. "We have to be able to defend for 40 minutes. Proud of our defense and our effort. We played what I think is potentially one of the best teams in the country."
The Wildcats will return to action at home on Thursday, Feb. 12 against No. 8 Michigan. Tip-off from Welsh-Ryan Arena is slated for 8 p.m. CT on Peacock.
Team Stats
USC
NU
FG%
.470
.424
3FG%
.313
.188
FT%
.846
.706
RB
40
31
TO
13
16
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
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