layup

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Hannah Hidalgo scored 22 points and hit the go-ahead jumper with 1.9 seconds left, KK Bransford scored nine of her 11 points in the fourth quarter and No. 24 Notre Dame beat 11th-ranked USC 61-59 on Friday.

Hildalgo finished with seven rebounds and five steals and Bransford had eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Vanessa de Jesus added 13 points, five assists and three steals for Notre Dame (4-1). The Fighting Irish, who went into the game averaging 18.0 steals per game (No. 5 nationally), had 16 steals.

Hidalgo, facing defensive pressure near midcourt, darted toward the basket and pulled up for a contested mid-range jumper that capped the scoring. Cassandre Prosper stole Kennedy Smith‘s inbounds pass to seal the game.

Kara Dunn hit four three-pointers and led USC (3-2) with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Jazzy Davidson added 14 points but committed eight turnovers. Londynn Jones, who went into the game second on the team in scoring (12.8 per game), was scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting.

Notre Dame scored the final six third-quarter points and opened the fourth with a 6-1 spurt that culminated when Cassandre Prosper made a layup with 4:25 to play, making it 52-all. Davidson hit a three, and Dunn followed with a jumper that put the Trojans up by two with 1:38 remaining before Bransford answered with a jumper that tied it at 59-59 a minute later.

Hidalgo scored eight points in a 13-2 first-quarter run that gave Notre Dame its biggest lead of the game at 15-10.

Smith made a layup that gave the Trojans a two-point lead with 2:27 remaining in the second quarter, and the lead was 33-31 at halftime. Hidalgo opened the third quarter with a layup, but USC scored 18 of the next 25 to gather an 11-point lead when Dunn — who scored nine points in the spurt — made a layup with 2:12 left until the fourth.

Up next for USC: The Trojans host Tennessee Tech on Tuesday.

Chad Baker-Mazara scored 20 of his career-high 26 points in the first half to lead seven USC players in double figures and start the Trojans off and running to a 114-83 victory over Manhattan on Sunday.

Baker-Mazara made seven of 13 shots, including three of four from three-point range, and all nine of his free throws to help the Trojans (2-0) score more points than they’ve had since 1998. He added seven rebounds.

Ezra Ausar scored 17 points on seven-for-10 shooting for USC and Rodney Rice pitched in with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Jacob Cofie totaled 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Terrence Williams II added 10 points and seven boards. Reserves Jaden Brownell and Jordan Marsh scored 13 and 11, respectively.

USC jumped out to a 7-2 lead before Anthony Isaac’s layup capped a 5-0 spurt for Manhattan to tie it. From there neither team had a two-possession lead until Baker-Mazara hit a three-pointer to put USC up 28-23 with 7:48 left before halftime. The Trojans sank four of their next five shots to push their advantage to double digits and upped it to 55-37 at the break.

USC led by as many as 35 in the second half and topped the century mark on a layup by Brownell with 6:16 left to play.

Junior guard Jaden Winston scored a career-high 29 to pace the Jaspers (1-1). The fifth-year senior guard made nine of 14 shots with three three-pointers while making all eight of his free throws. Terrance Jones had 18 points and fellow reserve Isaac scored 16.