McKenzie Forbes reveals key for USC to maintain lead in second half vs. Baylor

McKenzie Forbes and USC led 37-31 over Baylor at the half but allowed the Bears to climb back into the game. However, the Trojans have the key to win, according to one of their stars.

Forbes kept it simple, saying the Trojans have to make sure there are no lapses during stretches of the game. Being up big could cause complacency.

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However, Forbes seemed to be locked in when heading to the locker room.

“Yeah, we just have to lock in every possession,” Forbes said on the ESPN broadcast. “We can’t have any moments where we’re feelings ourselves when we make a shot. We have to all sprint back and build a wall.”

Forbes also acknowledged USC could get a little better on the glass.

“I think we could be a lot better,” Forbes said. “We gotta get active on the boards but we gotta box out in order to get on a run.

Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb spoke about the improvements on defense for USC coming into the game.

“Yeah, many of you guys know our associate head coach is Beth Burns,” Gottlieb said. “She’s a defensive mind. She’s always thinking that side of the ball. It’s always been a priority of ours. As you feed into your identity, you learn what really works for you.

“I think our players understand when we lock in on the game plan and do it really well, our kind of word for that is ‘juicy’. No matter what the game plan is, if you’re not juicy, it doesn’t work.”

So as far as Forbes was concerned, that was the message going into the matchup versus Baylor.

“I think the length helps us. JuJu has a ton of length, and she’s a terrific shot-blocker,” Gottlieb said. “Rayah Marshall was All-Defensive everything last year, and she’s a better defender this year than she’s ever been because she still has the shot blocking and the instincts, but now she anchors us, understands the coverages, calls them out. She’s a weapon on the defensive end.

“We have other lengthy people, Forbes, and KD is a really good defender. It allows us to understand our game plans better, play more connected than we were two months ago. We know shot-making is important, but we start our offense when we get stops. We need to get stops to be as good as we can be.”