USC
Arizona State
USC Women Drop 69-55 Loss At ASU
February 24, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2011
TEMPE, ARIZ. - The USC women's basketball team saw a tug-of-war with host Arizona State become stretched out of reach of the Trojans as USC fell 69-55 on Thursday night in Tempe. The Trojans had Briana Gilbreath and Cassie Harberts finish in double figures, but ASU was strong from the stripe and made a late move ahead for the Pac-10 win. USC goes to 16-10 overall and 8-7 in Pac-10 play with the loss, while Arizona State improves to 17-8, 9-6 and takes over third place in the conference standings.
USC and ASU were virtually even from the floor, with the Sun Devils outpacing the Trojans at 40 percent to USC's 38 percent effort. ASU made good from the free-throw line to the tune of a 21-of-23 outing, while USC shot 11-of-18. The Sun Devils also held the advantage on the boards 39-32. Dymond Simon led all scorers with 22 points, including an 11-of-12 effort from the stripe. Kimberly Brandon added 15 points for the Sun Devil. USC was led by 17 points from Briana Gilbreath, with Cassie Harberts battling foul trouble and ending up with 10 point and eight rebounds for the Trojans.
As the teams cross the 10-minute mark of the first half, the back-and-forth affair gave way to a trade in runs. USC answered a 6-0 ASU spurt with one of its own to get ahead 18-16 with 7:25 on the clock. The first 3-pointer of the game was dropped by ASU's Dymond Simon with 6:15 to go, but USC's Ashley Corral drained one not 30 seconds later to keep the Trojans and the Sun Devils in stride. USC would slip into a 7-point hole with three minutes to go, but the Women of Troy got five straight points from Christina Marinacci and a bucket from Briana Gilbreath to pull back even before ASU got one last basket to go to make it a 30-28 Sun Devil lead at the break.
A booming block from Gilbreath ties a season high of 8 for the Trojans and led to another tie-up, and Cassie Harberts would later get it even again at 34-34 before being tagged with her fourth foul of the game at 16:50. As thefoul count swayed heavily in ASU's favor, the Sun Devils enjoyed a 6-0 run to get ahead 44-39 with 9:45 on the clock. Later on, the Sun Devils would create some breathing room for themselves as USC shots became few and far between. Meanwhile, ASU generated a 9-0 run to get its largest lead of the game and expand it further as the Sun Devils made it a 14-2 run to get out of reach on the way to a 69-55 final.
USC now turns to take on Arizona in the Trojans' final Pac-10 road trip of the year. USC will visit the Wildcats in a 4 p.m. MT game on Saturday (Feb. 26) in Tucson.
