University Southern California Trojans
USC Women Wind Up For WNIT
March 15, 2011 | Women's Basketball
March 15, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK
The USC women will make their first venture into the Women's National Invitation Tournament since 2002 this week, but the Trojans are in familiar territory in that they open up the tournament as hosts in the WNIT First Round. Home for their fifth straight game, the Women of Troy (19-12) take on UC Santa Barbara (19-11) at 7 p.m. on Thursday (March 17) at the Galen Center. The winner of the USC-UC Santa Barbara clash has a date with either St. Mary's (Calif.) or Nevada in the WNIT Second Round, slated for March 19-21 at a site to be determined.
FOLLOW ALONG
USC's tournament games will have live audio provided by Jason Schwartz online through the women's basketball page at usctrojans.com. Live stats will be provided by the host sites, with links available through the USC schedule page at usctrojans.com.
IN THE NATION
USC is not ranked in this week's polls but holds an RPI of 44 in playing the 25th toughest schedule in the nation (as ranked by CollegeRPI.com).
POSTSEASON PICK `EM
USC had held an RPI of 44 and boasted the 25th toughest schedule in the nation, but still came up short of NCAA action after taking three losses in its last six games, including two to Arizona, which also did not get a spot in the NCAA tournament. USC had wins over three teams picked for NCAA play -- conference champions Fresno State, Georgia and Gonzaga -- and lost to tournament teams Arizona State, Duke, Princeton, Stanford, UCLA and Xavier. USC's only losses to non-NCAA tournament teams came to Arizona and California. Both those teams are in the WNIT as well. The Trojans enter the WNIT with the second-best RPI of the bunch, with Florida just a notch ahead with an RPI of 43 and sitting on the opposite corner of the WNIT bracket.
BACK IN THE WNIT
USC has made two previous appearances (2000 and 2002) in the WNIT for a 2-2 all-time record in the postseason tournament. On the road for all four games, USC beat Santa Clara 71-64 and lost to Colorado State 66-56 in 2000, and beat San Francisco 72-53 before falling to Washington 97-87 in 2002.
INJURY REPORT
USC freshman forward Thaddesia Southall is redshirting this season due to an ACL injury sustained before arriving at USC. Two current Women of Troy -redshirted last season due to knee injuries -- G Stefanie Gilbreath and F Michelle Jenkins. Gilbreath returned to action for USC's season opener against Gonzaga on Nov. 12, but was sidelined as of Dec. 17 by a foot injury. Gilbreath returned on Feb. 6, and Jenkins returned on Feb. 10. On Feb. 24, Gilbreath sustained new injury to her same right foot, and has been sidelined once again.
CONFERENCE CROSSOVERS
USC has three Pac-10 teams in its quarter of the 2011 WNIT bracket. Arizona was the automatic qualifier into WNIT action as the higest finishing Pac-10 team outside the NCAA bubble this season. Defending WNIT champion California also is on a possible collision course with the Trojans. USC could meet the Wildcats in the WNIT Third Round for the teams' fourth matchup this year (Arizona holds a 2-1 edge on the Trojans); and the Bears could well await that USC-Arizona winner in the WNIT quarterfinals. Even future conference-mate Colorado is in the line of fire for the Pac-10 teams. The Buffaloes and the Bears could meet up in the Second Round. USC has already faced Colorado once this year -- a 68-54 Trojan win -- and could get a repeat look at the Buffs in the Third Round.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
The Trojans were also 19-12 overall last season at this point in time, and had also missed out on an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. USC had finished third in the Pac-10 at 12-6.
SCOUTING UCSB
The Gauchos enter the WNIT with a 19-11 overall record after being upset by Pacific 49-45 in the first round of the Big West Tournament. UCSB is led in scoring by Emilie Johnson with 13.6 points per game, and Mekia Valentine is averaging a double-double with 11.1 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. Head coach Lindsay Gottleib is in her third season as head coach of the Gauchos, who went 15-17 overall last year and reached the Big West Tournament semifinals. The Gauchos's last postseason appearances were back-to-back NCAA Tournament first-round games in 2008 and 2009. UCSB last played in the WNIT in 2007, reaching the WNIT second round. USC is 11-13 all-time against UCSB, last facing the Gauchos at Galen Center for a 62-53 Trojan win on Nov. 30, 2008. The teams have traded wins in the past six games.
PAC-10 TOURNAMENT RECAP
USC rode the wave of freshman Cassie Harberts' 31 points and 14 rebounds through the first round of Pac-10 Tournament play as the Trojans topped Washington State 78-66 on Wednesday night at the Galen Center. It was an important victory for USC, improving the Trojans to a 19-11 overall record and earning USC a spot in today's quarterfinal against Arizona. WSU goes to 8-23 overall with the loss. Harberts' 31 points is the most scored by a Trojan since 2006, when Shay Murphy hit 33 in a win at Colorado. Even more noteworthy, she is the first Trojan freshman to score 31 points since 1981, when Paula McGee scored 31 against Long Beach State almost 31 years ago to date -- on March 14, 1981. Harberts' double-double was the third of her career, as she was joined in double figures by fellow Women of Troy Jacki Gemelos with 13 points and Kari LaPlante with 10. WSU got 11 points apiece from Katie Madison and Jazmine Perkins. USC put forth a concerted effort on the boards in outrebounding the Cougars 49-33 in the game while outshooting WSU with a 43 percent outing from the floor, ahead of the Cougars' 35 percent. WSU hit 11 threes in the game while USC forced its way to the free-throw line, hitting 24-of-31 from the stripe while the Cougars shot 9-of-13. In the quarterfinals vs. Arizona, USC was better on the boards, but Arizona was better from the floor as the Wildcats handed the Trojans a 72-61 loss. The Women of Troy were within reach at halftime, but Arizona's perimeter attack pulled the Wildcats ahead. It was the first time this season that USC has outrebounded an opponent and lost the game. Christina Marinacci led all with 13 rebounds in the game to help the Trojans to a 46-36 advantage in that stat line. But Arizona shot 49 percent from the floor and 53 percent (7-of-13) from 3-point range to work past the Trojans, who finished up 31 percent from the floor and 25 percent (3-of-12) from beyond the arc. Arizona's Davellyn Whyte hit five threes for a game-high 24 points, and Soana Lucet added 20 for the Wildcats to go with Ify Ibekwe's 13 points and 11 rebounds. USC's offense was charged up by 16 points from Briana Gilbreath, with Gemelos adding 11 and Harberts hitting 10 for the Trojans.
SENIOR STRENGTH
USC's seniors are playing in their final games at Galen Center this season, and at the head of the class is 6-foot-5 senior center Kari LaPlante -- one of only two true seniors on the USC roster. She and Michelle Franco were USC's lone freshmen in 2007 and will finish their careers having split time between two different coaching staffs at Troy. Under the defensive-minded Cooper's guidance last year as a junior, LaPlante picked up accolades with Pac-10 All-Defensive Honorable Mention. LaPlante is currently averaging 6.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game as USC's starting center.
JOINING THE CLUB
Junior guards Ashley Corral and Briana Gilbreath have been close in stride with one another on the path to a remarkable milestone in the USC history books. USC's two top scorers passed up the 900-point mark several games ago, with Gilbreath crossing the line first with her 17-point outing against Stanford on Jan. 22. She became the 22nd player to hit the 1,000-point benchmark as a Trojan. On Feb. 10 at Oregon State, Corral joined the club as well, going for 14 points to break the 1,000-point barrier, while also establishing herself as USC's all-time leader in career 3-pointers thanks to four threes hit in that game. Gilbreath now sits at 1,196 career points to stand as USC's No. 15 all-time scorer. Corral now holds 1,089 career points to rank No. 19 in overall scoring, and is distancing herself as the all-time 3-point leader with 201 made to date.
JUNIOR NATION
While Ashley Corral and Briana Gilbreath have been climbing up the career scoring ladder, the Trojan tandem has also jumped into the USC history books in a couple other categories as well. In addition to being USC's No. 19 scorer and top 3-point shooter, Corral now ranks No. 9 all-time in career assists with 351. Gilbreath stands No. 15 all-time in scoring and has served up 121 career blocks now to rank No. 7 on that career list just ahead of Trojan great Pam McGee.
CASSIE'S 31 FOR 31
Not only is Cassie Harberts the only Trojan to have started all 31 of USC's games this season, she also became the first Trojan to score 30 points or more in a game since 2007 when she poured in 31 against WSU in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament. That effort is the best by a freshman since 1981, when Paula McGee scored 31 against Long Beach State on March 14, 1981. Harberts stands as one of five USC freshmen to score 30 points or more in a game, joining the elite company of Kathy Hammond (1977), Pam and Paula McGee (1981), Cheryl Miller (1982) and Lisa Leslie (1991).
THE BEST SINCE...
USC's strong start to the season had the Trojans holding numbers the program hadn't hit in over a decade. USC's 8-3 record going into Pac-10 play marked the best such winning percentage since the 1994-95 season, when USC was 7-1 entering conference play. And USC's 10-3 overall record through their first two Pac-10 games solidified the Trojans' best overall start since 1993-94, when USC held a 17-1 record before taking its first Pac-10 loss. In moving to a 12-4 mark after two more wins at Galen, USC pulled even with its 2004-05 record at this stage in the season. That year, USC turned a 6-4 record into a seven-game win streak.
RANK AND FILE
The Trojans turned some heads in the early goings of the season in serving up upsets of two ranked teams in USC's first four games. The Women of Troy opened the year with a 79-73 win over No. 22 Gonzaga and later handed out a 71-63 win over No. 17 Georgia. Both those wins came at the Galen Center, where USC is currently a perfect 6-0 so far. On the road against two top-10 teams, USC took a 75-50 loss at No. 4 Duke and a tight 69-66 loss at No. 4 Xavier during nonconference play. With losses to the Pac-10's two highly ranked teams --- UCLA and Stanford -- the Trojans are now 2-6 on the year against ranked opponents.
ROAD RUNNERS
This season, USC is 7-8 overall in road games, including a 1-1 split in neutral territory. Up until the trip through Fresno and Washington state, the Trojans had spent half their time outside the Pacific Time Zone, venturing into Eastern Time for games at Duke and NC State and the Vanderbilt Tournament to go along with a quick visit to Central Time to face Xavier. Overall, USC is 2-5 on trips outside PST, and is currently 12-7 in games played within the state of California; 6-5 in out-of-state games.
AWARD-WINNING OPENING
Briana Gilbreath kicked off the season with a bang, standing as the first player of the season to pick up Pac-10 Player of the Week honors. It was the first career selection for Gilbreath, who opened the year with a double-double to lead USC to an upset win over No. 22 Gonzaga in the Trojans' season opener. Gilbreath had a game-high 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, scoring 15 of her final 21 points during the second half in helping to push USC to a comeback win. The 21-point outing was just a point away from Gilbreath's career high. Three weeks later, Gilbreath repeated as the Pac-10 Player of the Week --- a feat last achieved by a Trojan in 1996 by Tina Thompson. In a long road trip through a few more time zones, Gilbreath beat her previous career high scoring total in back-to-back games. Up against the nation's No. 4 team in Xavier, Gilbreath had a double-double with a career-best 26 points to go with 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the year. Gilbreath's four 3-pointers hit in the Xavier game also was a new career high. Still on the road, the Trojans then visited NC State, with Gilbreath leading the way again with 23 points and a team-high seven rebounds as the Trojans beat the Wolfpack 84-75 to wrap up a strong road split. Gilbreath hit seven 3-pointers across the two games to go with five assists and four steals. After nailing her seventh double-double vs. Washington, Gilbreath is now averaging a team-high 15.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game for the Trojans. She also now ranks No. 15 all-time in career scoring at USC with her 1,196 career points after hitting 16 against Arizona.
PAC-10 HAT TRICK
Ashley Corral snagged USC's third Pac-10 Player of the Week honor this season -- the junior's second pick of her career -- after helping lead the Trojans to wins at the Women of Troy Basketball Tournament. Corral ran her total up to 162 career threes in providing game-high scoring for USC in wins over Colorado and San Diego State. Named to the All-Tournament Team, Corral coupled 14 points against future conference-mate Colorado with a team-high seven rebounds as USC beat the Buffs 68-54. The next day, Corral opened the championship game against San Diego State with a 5-of-5 effort from the floor, scoring USC's first 10 points of the game and finishing with 23 points to go with six assists and five rebounds, providing key points for USC as the Trojans pulled out of a four-point game to beat the Aztecs 74-64. Corral's selection marks the first time since 1996-97 that the Trojans have had more than two Player of the Week honors in a single season as she joins Briana Gilbreath's pair of picks to date. Corral is currently No. 2 on the team in scoring with 12.0 ppg and is averaging 3.8 assists per game after having moved up to No. 19 all-time in career scoring and hit her 200th career 3-pointer.
ALL-AMERICAN GIRLS
The USC roster is loaded up with six All-American honorees. Five returning players were McDonald's All-Americans on their way into Troy: Ashley Corral, Jacki Gemelos, Briana Gilbreath, Stefanie Gilbreath and Christina Marinacci. Also coming in with All-American accolades is WBCA honoree Cassie Harberts, who kicked off her career as a Trojan with a 16-point outing in her USC debut, and who recently notched her first career double-double. For the first time in five seasons, USC started the season with all its All-Americans healthy and on the court. This year's crew accounts for 85 percent of USC's scoring. Briana Gilbreath, Corral, Gemelos and Harberts are all averaging in double figures to date, with Marinacci not far behind at 8.4 ppg, and Stefanie Gilbreath averaging 3.4 ppg in 13 appearances. Marinacci also is No. 2 in rebounds, hauling in 6.6 rpg to date.
JACKI'S BACK
After almost four years on the sidelines with knee injuries, Jacki Gemelos -- a high school All-American and the nation's top recruit as a freshman in 2006 -- took to the court for the first game action of her Trojan career on Feb. 4, 2010 at Cal. She already has completed her undergraduate degree, but this week, she's playing in the first USC season opener of her career. Now currently pursuing a master's in gerontology, Gemelos has started her first full season of competition healthy and strong. Gemelos has been granted one more season of eligibility after this 2010-11 season. Gemelos is the team's third leading scorer with 11.7 points per game.
LAST YEAR
Under first-year collegiate head coach Michael Cooper -- a former NBA star with the Los Angeles Lakers and a WNBA head coach for the Los Angeles Sparks -- USC finished 19-12 overall and carried a six-game winning streak into the Pac-10 Tournament semifinals. With Cooper's guidance, the Women of Troy set several new program records in that 2009-10 season, posting USC's best-ever free-throw percentage (.725) while tallying the fewest turnovers (462) and fewest fouls (484) committed in Trojan history.
COOPER, THE FIRST
Long before Michael Cooper took the reins of the USC women's basketball program as coach, there was another Cooper who ruled the floor for the Women of Troy. Cynthia Cooper -- no relation to coach Cooper -- was a big part of USC's glory days that included back-to-back NCAA championships. Now Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, she returned to Troy last weekend to see her No. 44 jersey retired and hung in the Galen Center on March 6. Cooper-Dyke is the third USC women's basketball player ever to have her jersey retired, joining Cheryl Miller and Lisa Leslie with that prestigious honor. Currently the head coach at UNC Wilmington, Cooper-Dyke remains a powerful part of Trojan history as a two-time national champion, a 1982 WBCA Freshman All-American, 1986 All-Pac-10 First Team selection, and sits in the USC career charts as the No. 9 all-time scorer, No. 3 all-time in steals and No. 7 all-time in games player and in assists.
GREAT PATIENCE
Arguably the most inspiring aspect of the year to come has been seeing two hard-working Trojans finally take the floor for their first full seasons at USC. After being knocked back by multiple knee injuries, the 2006 top recruit in the nation and McDonald's All-American Jacki Gemelos returned to competition for the final 11 games of last season. Meanwhile, stuck on the sideline for her third straight season due to knee injuries was Stefanie Gilbreath -- another McDonald's All-American. It's been a heartbreakingly long road back for both, but this season marks a long-awaited milestone for Gemelos and Gilbreath. They both appeared in USC's season opener, and stepped right into their roles as contributors for the Women of Troy.
FAMILY REUNION
When Stefanie Gilbreath hit the court for the first time in USC's season opener on Nov. 12, it was a long-awaited on-court reunion for USC's sister act. Older by a year, Stefanie now beats out junior sister Briana in remaining eligibility. It had been four years since the pair lasted suited up in the same uniform for gametime -- when Stefanie was a senior in high school and Briana was a junior at Cinco Ranch High in Katy, Texas. They both came out of high school as McDonald's All-Americans, although Stefanie's knee troubles stalled out her Trojan debut while Briana picked up Pac-10 Freshman of the Year recognition and All-Pac-10 Team honors in her first two seasons at USC. In the Nov. 12 Gilbreath-sister-debut, Briana tallied a double-double in 30 minutes of action, and Stefanie registered her first basket and rebound and steal in her first 5 minutes on the floor as a Trojan.
