University Southern California Trojans
USC Women Battle The Bruins Saturday In Westwood
January 10, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2012
COMING UP NEXT
After making its seventh trip out-of-state this season with last week's sweep through Arizona, USC returns to California for a three-game stretch back in the Pacific Time Zone. The Women of Troy (8-6, 3-1 Pac-12) take a three-game win streak across town this weekend, facing rival UCLA (7-8, 2-2) in a 2 p.m. clash on Saturday (Jan. 14) at the John Wooden Center in Westwood, Calif.
FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday's game will have live audio provided by Jason Schwartz and Daren Flam. Live stats through GameTracker for also will be available online through the women's basketball page at usctrojans.com.
GET TO GALEN!
USC students receive FREE ADMISSION to all home games! For other Trojan fans, tickets are available online or by calling 213-740-GOSC. Group discounts ($3 per person) are also available for groups of 10 or more. For families, pick up a Family 4-Pack for $40 to receive four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks. CLICK HERE for more info on promos and tickets.
IN THE NATION
USC opened the year with a spot in the national rankings for the first time since 2006, ranked at No. 23 in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN preseason polls. After the first week, USC moved up to No. 22 in the USA Today/ESPN poll and No. 23 in AP, but fell out of the rankings in week two. USC is currently unranked. UCLA also is unranked.
LAST WEEK
USC rolled through a road sweep in the desert with victories over ASU at Arizona last week. First, the Trojans pinned up their largest win in Tempe since 1999 with a solid 60-48 win over host Arizona State on Thursday night. In doing so, the Trojans dealt the Sun Devils their first home loss of the season and first to an unranked opponent. Four 3-pointers and an icy push from the free-throw line in the last four minutes of play helped lock away a 21-point effort by Ashley Corral, who led all scorers on the night. The USC defense held the Sun Devils to a sub-30-percent effort from the floor, with no ASU players hitting double digits aside from Kimberly Brandon's 10 rebounds. USC's effort on the boards, meanwhile, tipped the scales in the Trojans' favor to the tune of a 47-34 advantage. Corral's 21-point night was paired with 14 points from Briana Gilbreath, and a pair of nines from Cassie Harberts and Christina Marinacci. USC shot 33 percent in the game, and recovered from a turnover-heavy first half 25 minutes of play to buckle down and comeback from ASU's six-point lead with 15 minutes to go. USC then capped off the by staving off comeback efforts by host Arizona and securing a 72-67 win on Saturday afternoon in Tucson. Briana Gilbreath led a pack of five Women of Troy in double figures for the win, hitting 17 points to go with nine rebounds. USC led by as much as 16 in the second half before Arizona cut to within three in the final minute before Ashley Corral tallied her 10th points of the day with a pair of clutch free throws with seven ticks to go to secure the road win. Corral was one of four Trojans to finish with 10 points, joined by Stefanie Gilbreath, Cassie Harberts and Christina Marinacci, who battled foul trouble to stay a force for USC. Arizona was led by a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds from Davellyn Whyte. USC picked up its scoring pace in the second half to finish the game at a 38-percent clip to match Arizona's 38 percent from the floor. Both teams nailed five 3-pointers apiece, but USC was ahead of the game on the boards 43-39 and from the free-throw line, hitting 21-of-28 to Arizona's 14-of-18.
SCOUTING UCLA
The Bruins are 7-8 overall and 2-2 in Pac-12 play after falling 74-66 at Arizona and beating ASU 64-48 last week. Rebekah Gardner leads UCLA in scoring with 14.7 points per game, and Markel Walker leads on the boards with 8.9 rebounds per game. Cori Close is in her first season as head coach of the Bruins, who went 28-5 overall last season, finishing 16-2 in Pac-10 play and reaching the NCAA Second Round. USC is 43-37 all-time against UCLA but has lost the past four games against the Bruins. The Trojans' last win was a 70-63 victory on Jan. 17, 2010, at the Galen Center. Last season, UCLA won 61-42 in Westwood and 74-67 at the Galen Center.
ROAD WARRIORS
A road-tested and decorated USC roster is back for more this season. Last season, the Women of Troy played in 11 different states in amassing a program record of 18 road games. This year, USC opened the year with another busy travel schedule. The Women of Troy visited five different U.S. states during their nonconference stretch, which included face-offs against six NCAA tournament teams, including road tilts against 2011 NCAA finalist Notre Dame and champion Texas A&M. USC is now 3-5 in road and neutral-site games to date. Four of USC's five nonconference losses came on the road against currently AP-ranked teams: No. 15 Nebraska, No. 19 Georgia, No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 12 Texas A&M. The only other road loss this year was at unranked Arkansas State in USC's first-ever trip to the state of Arkansas.
SCHEDULE STRENGTH
Although USC was one of three Pac-12 teams to enter conference play without a winning record, the Trojans boast the toughest schedule in the conference and No. 2 toughest nationally (realtimerpi.com). USC has played three top-10 teams to date (0-3 against), with six games against currently ranked or receiving votes in the national polls (1-5 against). USC's current NCAA RPI is 18 (as of Jan. 8), putting the Trojans as the second-highest team from the Pac-12.
TOUGH TIMES IN TEXAS
On Dec. 18 in College Station, Texas, USC gave the defending NCAA champion Texas A&M all they could handle, leading by as much as 10 against the Aggies before a late push and a clutch 3-pointer from Sydney Carter netted a 71-70 comeback win for Texas A&M to preserve a now-47-game nonconference home win streak for the Aggies. USC trailed by two when Jacki Gemelos went down with a knee injury with 3:39 to go in the first half. The Trojans wiped away tears of fear and sorrow for what looked to be Gemelos' fourth ACL injury of her career and took the floor after a "For Jacki" cheer. USC would then mount a ferocious push against the Aggies. Less than a minute after Gemelos went down, Ashley Corral nailed her second of what would become five 3-pointers in the game. Freshmen Alexyz Vaioletama and Ariya Crook, along with junior Christina Marinacci and senior Briana Gilbreath, would also drain threes while the Trojans were also tough on the defensive boards to propel during a push to a 67-57 lead with 5:07 to go. Texas A&M would regroup, however, and kept USC from scoring any further field goals the rest of the way. Three free throws fell for the Trojans, but the Aggies managed to drain a winning 3-pointer with 10 seconds to go, and USC was unable to get back ahead in the remaining moments to wind up with the 71-70 loss. Corral led USC with 16 points, with Gilbreath and Vaioletama each adding 12 and Cassie Harberts providing 10.
TROPICAL TANGLES
USC picked up a split at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas over the Thanksgiving break, taking an 80-58 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame and then beating Gardner-Webb 82-41 -- USC's largest margin of victory since the 2002-03 season. Against the 2011 NCAA finalists, USC closed the gap to nine during the second half of its tropical tangle with the Fighting Irish, but Notre Dame would pull away for the decisive win. USC was paced by Ashley Corral's 17 points, including 11 in the second half. USC trailed by 12 at halftime and cut it to nine on back-to-back 3-pointers from Corral as the teams crossed the 15-minute mark of the second half, only to see Notre Dame outscore the Trojans 20-5 in the next seven minutes to create a winning margin for the Fighting Irish. Approximately 24 hours after arriving in Freeport, USC came out strong and forced eight lead changes in the first seven minutes of action, going up 13-11 on a three from Briana Gilbreath before Notre Dame made a 9-1 run to take a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. The Trojans contested the boards well throughout, with Notre Dame leading 38-35 on the night. The Irish shot 43 percent in the game to USC's 33 percent, and forced 21 Trojan turnovers. USC needed a breakthrough game next in the Bahamas and found it in the form of an 82-41 win over Gardner-Webb. The Women of Troy snapped a three-game skid to some of the nation's best teams by racking up a hot-handed game against the Running Bulldogs, with Corral again leading all with 22 points - including six 3-pointers - and Christina Marinacci hauling in 14 rebounds in the win. USC goes to 2-3 overall with the victory, and Gardner-Webb now sits at 0-6. The Women of Troy shot at a 54-percent clip from the floor and outrebounded the Running Bulldogs 41-22. Four Trojans scored in double figures led by Corral's 22 along with 13 from Cassie Harberts and 12 apiece from Jacki Gemelos and Thaddesia Southall, while Marinacci dominated the boards to the tune of her 14 rebounds.
MOVING ON UP
USC seniors Ashley Corral and Briana Gilbreath both broke the 1,000-point barrier last season and continue to trek up the ladder in USC's history books. Gilbreath moved up to No. 12 all-time on Jan. 7, now holding 1,432 career points, and Corral is at No. 15 with 1,369. Gilbreath has taken over at No. 5 all-time in career blocks (now holds 154) and is now alone at No. 8 all-time in steals (currently holds 221) with seven to go to match Lisa Leslie's career mark. Gilbreath took over No. 8 on the career free-throws made list on Jan. 5 (currently holds 347), and on Dec. 31, she cracked the top-10 all-time in career rebounds, now ranked No. 9 with 713. Corral already is etched as USC's all-time 3-point leader (262), and she's No. 7 on the list for career assists (currently holds 410) with four to go to match the esteemed Cheryl Miller's mark at Troy.
FRESHMAN FIRSTS
USC's newcomers all marked up the stat sheet in their Trojan debuts in the season opener on Nov. 11. Freshman Alexyz Vaioletama got the start at forward and finished up with seven points, eight rebounds and five assists in her first action. Freshman Ariya Crook came off the bench to provide two points and an assist along with two steals; and redshirt freshman Thaddesia Southall nabbed a rebound and an assist to go along with two blocks for the post in her first minutes as a Trojan. Her first career points came with a free throw at Georgia on Nov. 20, and she became the first of the newcomers to hit double figures with 12 vs. Gardner-Webb on Nov. 26. Crook would notch her first double-digit day with 10 vs. UTSA on Nov. 30. Vaioletama hit double digits for the first time with 12 points at Texas A&M on Dec. 18.
INJURY REPORT
USC has two players sidelined for the season to rehab from offseason surgeries. Freshman Deanna Calhoun (knee) will redshirt her first year at USC, and Kate Oliver (ankle) will sit out the season after transferring from Marist. Junior Christina Marinacci missed the first game of her USC career on Nov. 11 due to health reasons but returned to action at Nebraska on Nov. 18. Ariya Crook missed the Nov. 26 game vs. Gardner-Webb with an ankle injury. Redshirt freshman Thaddesia Southall sustained a tear to her ACL graft on Nov. 30 and will be out the rest of the season. Redshirt senior Jacki Gemelos suffered her fourth career ACL tear on Dec. 18 when she injured her left knee.
YOUNG GUNS
Compared to the 14 years of combined time at USC among guards Ashley Corral, Jacki Gemelos, Briana Gilbreath and Stefanie Gilbreath, returning starters Cassie Harberts and Christina Marinacci are relative newbies. That is, until one takes a look at the minutes they've logged during their time as Trojans. Junior forward Marinacci played in every game in her first two seasons at Troy, and was fifth on the team in scoring last year with 8.2 points to go along with the second-best mark of 6.8 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Harberts was the only Trojan to start every single game last season, and was one of four Trojans averaging in double digits last year with her 10.2 points per game that she paired with 6.2 rebounds per game. She secured a spot on the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team and was on the Pac-10 All-Tournament Team after posting a 30-point game during the tourney. This season, Harberts is averaging 11.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Marinacci missed the first game of her career in USC's 2011-12 season opener, but has returned to provide 7.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game to date after setting a new career high with 23 points in USC's Dec. 31 win over Cal.
FRESH FACES
Michael Cooper and his coaching staff have added a premier class of incoming talent, with a group of athletes that rank as the No. 8 class in the nation. Guard Ariya Crook and forward Alexyz Vaioletama are projected to be impact players in their first seasons as Trojans. Their fellow freshmen Deanna Calhoun and Kiki Alofaituli, meanwhile, will sit out the season along with junior transfer Kate Oliver, who comes to Troy from Australia by way of two years at Marist. Calhoun is coming back from a high school-sustained knee injury, and Alofaituli will sit out per NCAA rules.
ALL-AMERICAN GIRLS
The USC roster is loaded up with eight 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 holding high school All-American accolades is WBCA honoree Cassie Harberts, now a sophomore with the Trojans. That core of six returners have two new McDonald's All-Americans also lined up for action in freshmen Ariya Crook and Alexyz Vaioletama.
LAST SEASON
In head coach Michael Cooper's second season at Troy, the Women of Troy experienced a successful postseason that saw USC make a run to the WNIT title match. The 2011 Women of Troy finished the year with a 24-13 overall record after a 10-8 mark in Pac-10 play. The 24 wins was the most by a USC team since 1993-94, and USC's 18 road games in the season the Trojans set another program record. Juniors Ashley Corral and Briana Gilbreath both earned All-Pac-10 Team honors for the second straight season, with Jacki Gemelos picking up her first conference honors with All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention. Newcomer Cassie Harberts was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team and also had a spot on the Pac-10 All-Tournament Team alongside Corral. Corral and Gilbreath would also garner WNIT All-Tournament Team accolades, and Gilbreath became the first Trojan since 1997 to earn an AP All-American selection with an Honorable Mention pick after standing out as USC's leader in scoring, rebounds, blocks and steals in her junior season. Corral and Gilbreath made more Trojan history in both scoring their 1,000th career points last season. Gilbreath hit the mark on Jan. 22, 2011, and Corral followed suit on Feb. 10, 2011. Corral also took over as USC's all-time leader in career 3-pointers on that same day.
