USC
19-11
Washington State
8-23
Harberts Hits 31 In USC Win Over WSU
March 09, 2011 | Women's Basketball
March 9, 2011
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LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The USC women's basketball team 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 tomorrow's 5:15 p.m. 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. Her double-double was the third of her career, as Harberts 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.
Back-to-back threes from freshman Desiree Bradley helped boost the Trojans ahead 16-11 before WSU closed back in. A Cougar three would chop the score to an 18-17 USC edge, but the Trojans responded with an 11-0 run capped by a three from Jacki Gemelos to make it 27-17 USC with 5:20 on the clock. The Women of Troy had the Cougars doubled up on the boards with 3 minutes left, holding a 20-10 rebounding advantage to that point. USC was up 24-12 on the boards at halftime, although the Cougars had cut into the Trojan lead with a buzzer-beating three to make it 35-29 USC at the break.
The second half opened with a back-and-forth battle until USC generated a 6-0 run on two scores from Cassie Harberts to get the freshman up to a career-high 19 points and a score from Gemelos on the fast break for a 50-39 USC lead with 14:20. A 3-pointer from Christina Marinacci helped spark another push from the Trojans later in the half. Harberts answered a Cougar make with a three-point play, then served up two more free throws before Kari LaPlante added a pair as well for a 67-51 USC lead with 4 minutes left to play. Harberts continued to plug away for the Trojans on her way to setting a new season-high scoring mark for USC with her 30th points of the night.
