USC Women Take Another Shot At UCLA In Pac-12 Play

Sunday, January 20

Los Angeles, CA

4:00 PM

USC

UCLA

The team huddles up before a game at Galen Center

Photo by: John McGillen

USC Women Take Another Shot At UCLA In Pac-12 Play

January 15, 2019 | Women's Basketball, Features

WEEKLY RELEASE (PDF)LIVE STREAM LIVE STATS

Women of Troy visit the Bruins for another crosstown showdown — this one in Westwood on Sunday.

USC (10-6, 0-5) at UCLA (9-8, 2-3)

Pauley Pavilion | Westwood, Calif.

Sunday, Jan. 20 | 4 p.m.

Series Record: USC leads 48-47

Last Meeting: L, 72-65 (Dec. 30, 2018 • Galen Center)

Current Streak: USC lost 5

TV: Pac-12 Los Angeles

[PbP: Anne Marie Anderson | Analyst: Maylana Martin]

Stream: pac-12.com/live | Stats: sidearmstats.com/ucla/wbball

THIS WEEK

The Women of Troy have come through a tough stretch of battles with ranked Pac-12 opponents and are looking to put a tally in the conference win column this week as USC faces crosstown rival UCLA. The Trojans and the Bruins face off for the second time this season with a tilt in Westwood. USC (10-6, 0-5 Pac-12) visits UCLA (9-8, 2-3) at 4 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 20) at Pauley Pavilion.

IN THE NATION

USC is not ranked in the national polls this week. On Dec. 18, USC climbed into the USA Today Coaches rankings, weighing in at No. 25 in the land last week. It was USC's first time back in the rankings since the final AP poll of the 2013-14 season, which had USC at No. 25. The Trojans' last appearance in the USA Today poll had been Nov. 15, 2011, at No. 22.

LAST ACTION

USC went up against two top-10 opponents last week and did not end up having hte firepower to keep pace with either No. 5 Oregon or No. 10 Oregon State. The Ducks shot over 50 percent from the floor and landed 13 threes to rack up a final 93-53 win over the host Trojans. The Ducks had the hot hand in the first half, hitting at a 50 percent clip while the Trojans were coming up cold at 19 percent. That accounted for Oregon's surge to a 41-18 halftime advantage, with Satou Sabally and Sabrina Ionescu in double digits for the Ducks by the break. Oregon would fire up further to 60 percent in the third while nailing five 3-pointers, and the Ducks would stay the course to finish out with 13 threes made and a 54 percent effort from the floor. Oregon was 45 percent from beyond the arc and outrebounded USC 36-34. USC wrapped the game at 29.1 percent from the floor and hit five threes overall. USC received a team-high 16 points from Aliyah Mazyck. Ja'Tavia Tapley added 13 points, and Mariya Moore had 11 while hitting three threes for the Trojan cause. Tapley and Kayla Overbeck led USC with seven rebounds apiece. For Oregon, Satou Sabally scored 26 point, Sabrina Ionescu finished with 17, Taylor Chaves had 14, Ruthy Hebard scored 23, and Taylor Chavez had 10. Sabally dropped five 3-pointers all on her own, and Chavez nailed four for the Ducks. Two days later against OSU, Mikayla Pivec scored 19 of her 21 points in the second half as the No. 10 Beavers beat the Trojans 76-52 . OSU's Maddie Washington added 19 points and Aleah Goodman had 17, hitting a career-high five 3-pointers, for the Beavers). Oregon State led by five when it took command by closing the third quarter with a 19-2 run. The Beavers held the Trojans to just 17.6 percent shooting (3 of 17) in the period. Oregon State held USC to just 25 percent shooting for the game, though its defense forced only nine turnovers. During the decisive stretch from the third quarter to early in the final period, USC went 8:05 without a field goal The Trojans were led Minyon Moore's 21 points. Aliyah Mazyck added 10 points for USC. The Beavers won their sixth consecutive game. Second in the nation in 3-point percentage (43.3), they hit on 8-of-18 threes against the Trojans. USC was outrebounded, 41-30, and made only one of 14 3-point attempts. Mazyck scored her 1,000th career point during the game with her first 3-pointer of the day.

SCOUTING UCLA

The Bruins are 9-8 overall and 2-3 in Pac-12 play after an 83-73 loss to No. 10 Oregon State and a 72-52 loss to No. 5 Oregon last week. Michaela Onyenwere leads UCLA in scoring with 16.6 points per game, and Lajahna Drummer leads on the bards with 8.9 rebounds per game. In series records dating back to 1971, USC is 48-47 all-time against UCLA with losses in the last five meetings. USC's last win was a 71-68 decision at the Galen Center on Jan. 10, 2016. Last month, UCLA beat USC 72-65 in the teams' Pac-12 opener at Galen Center.

INJURY REPORT

Aliyah Mazyck (ankle) and Kayla Overbeck (knee) missed USC's Nov. 23 game vs. Utah State due to injury. Mazyck and Minyon Moore (wrist) were sidelined by injury on Nov. 25 at Nevada. Mazyck also sat out the Dec. 1 game at UNLV. Cheyanne Wallace missed the Jan. 6 game at Cal (knee). Asiah Jones and Minyon Moore missed the Jan. 11 game vs. Oregon with injuries.

MAZYCK MAKES THE LIST

USC senior Aliyah Mazyck's notable junior season has attracted national attention, as she has been selected as one of the country's top 20 shooting guards recognized on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Preseason Watch List. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced the list today (Oct. 23). A finalist for the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year last year, Mazyck was a 2018 Pac-12 All-Defensive Team and All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention pick as a junior. That year, the Charlotte, N.C., native set a USC single-season record with 86 threes made. A full-time starter, she averaged 16.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game. Now a senior captain for the Women of Troy, Mazyck has stepped into a leadership role that will help the speedster's upward trajectory on the Pac-12 and the national radars this season. Named after the first player, male or female, named to the All-America Team in four straight college seasons, the annual Ann Meyers Drysdale Award — in its second year — recognizes the top shooting guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. Hampered a bit by early-season injury, Mazyck has started nine games this season to date, averaging 12.2 points and a 2.4 steals per game along with 4.1 rebounds per game. She added her name to another spot in the USC history books last week in scoring her 1,000th career point with a 10-point outing against Oregon State on Jan. 13 at Galen Center.

MARIYA ON NAISMITH WATCH LIST

As USC senior Mariya Moore engages in her first and final season of competition with the Women of Troy, the talented guard has earned national acclaim as one of 50 women's basketball players selected to the Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List. A transfer from Louisville last year, Moore sat out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules. At Louisville, Moore earned 2016 WBCA All-America Honorable Mention, was a 2016 All-ACC First Team honoree and a 2015 and 2017 All-ACC Second Team selection. The Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List was released today (Nov. 12) by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. In February, a midseason 30 list will be release, followed by 10 semifinalists for the award to be named on March 4, 2019. Four finalists will be revealed on March 22, with the winner of the 2019 Citizen Naismith Trophy for Women's Player of the Year to be announced on April 6, 2019. The last USC player to be named to a Naismith Watch List was Cassie Harberts in 2013-14. Prior to Harberts, Jacki Gemelos and Briana Gilbreath were both selected to the Naismith Early Season Watch List at the start of the 2011-12 season. In 2006-07, Shay Murphy was on the preseason watch list, and Ebony Hoffman was a preseason candidate in 2002-03. USC already boasts two Naismith Trophy winners in three-time honoree Cheryl Miller (1984, 1985, 1986) and Lisa Leslie (1994). To date, Moore is USC's second leading scorer with 13.0 points per game, having set a new career high with 36 points scored at Cal on Jan. 6. In that game, Moore matched the USC record with seven 3-pointers made. She is currently averaging 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in 16 starts as a Trojan.

CULTURE SHIFT

As the Women of Troy progress in this 2018-19 season, the energy and excitement generated by USC's combination of Trojan veterans and fresh faces is palpable. Along with the return of Pac-12 honorees Aliyah Mazyck and Minyon Moore, there are six Women of Troy who have seen their first game action in a USC jersey. Transfers Mariya Moore, Kayla Overbeck and Cheyanne Wallace are three of those six Women of Troy having logged their first minutes at USC. Shalexxus Aaron, meanwhile, is finally off the sidelines and in full force after sitting out the 2017-18 season with injury, and adds a deft shooting hand to the back court. The other two newbies forward Jillian Archer and guard Desiree Caldwell, who are USC's two true freshmen this season. Altogether, USC's six newcomers are averaging a combined 36.9 points per game in these first 16 games.

SENIOR STRENGTH

USC's senior class offers a window into the new formula that head coach Mark Trakh is working with this season — a blend of players with diverse talents and diverse experience. Aliyah Mazyck is USC's record-holder for single-season 3-pointers made and is coming off a junior season where she averaged 16.5 points per game. Seniors Mariya Moore and Cheyanne Wallace, meanwhile, bring another angle of experience to the picture. Moore was a decorated player at Louisville, then transferred to USC last season. This year marks her first game action as a Trojan. Wallace also opted to change course to USC, coming across town from Loyola Marymount to get in the mix this season as a grad transfer. Currently, Moore, Mazyck and Wallace currently stand as USC's second, third and sixth leading scorers, respectively.

POWER AT THE POST

USC has two standout juniors lined up for duty as veterans on the post. Ja'Tavia Tapley was the sixth man last year, and her 6-3 frame and incredible athleticism have helped her into a full-time starting role this season. Newly crowned for her junior season at USC is Vanderbilt transfer Kayla Overbeck, whose waiver to compete immediately as a Trojan was granted by the NCAA. An All-SEC honoree as a freshman, Overbeck adds yet another valuable depth charge to the post for USC. Redshirt sophomore Asiah Jones also is back in the lineup after a year sidelined by injury, and the athletic post brings length and serious leaping ability to the paint for the Trojans. Freshman Jillian Archer also is in regular rotation at the post, helping USC boast important depth down low.

SEASON OPENER

USC's season opener was highlighted by debut performances from six new Trojans. Competing for USC for the first time, all six Trojans scored in a 73-55 win over visiting UC Riverside. A relative veteran at Troy, junior Minyon Moore led the way with a double-double — the fifth of her USC career — on a team-high 16 points and 12 rebounds to go with seven assists, as USC opened the 2018-19 campaign with a 1-0 mark. USC gripped a 12-point lead during the first half, but it would melt away as UC Riverside battled back to level it at 30-30 by halftime. That's when the Trojans turned the tide. USC outscored the Highlanders 27-12 in the third quarter to open things up, and the Trojans finished out the game shooting 44.6 percent from the floor to outpace UC Riverside's 38.3 outing. USC also outrebounded its visitors, 37-30, and went 50 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-20). One rebound shy of double digits at halftime, Minyon Moore collected three more in the second half while pumping out 12 second-half points. The first Trojan to hit double digits in the game, however, was senior transfer Mariya Moore, who shined in her Trojan debut with 11 points with three 3-pointers landed. Joining the 3-point parade for USC were two more Women of Troy hitting the court for the first time. Senior transfer Cheyanne Wallace went 2-for-2 from long distance, while redshirt freshman Shalexxus Aaron also tallied two treys in her first USC action. Junior transfer Kayla Overbeck may not have spotted up from beyond the arc, but she made her presence known down low, dumping in 10 points as she, too, hit the floor as a Trojan for the first time. Another newcomer to the paint at USC was freshman Jillian Archer, who provided five points on the night. True freshman guard Deisree Caldwell, meanwhile, had two points and two steals in her USC debut. In all, every USC player who got in the game would score in the victory. Junior Ja'Tavia Tapley was just short of double digits in finishing with nine points. Back in action after redshirting last season with injury was redshirt sophomore Asiah Jones, who had four points along with five boards.

LAST SEASON

USC finished up the 2017-18 season with a 20-11 overall record in head coach Mark Trakh's return to the helm of the program. In Pac-12 play, USC finished in seventh place at 7-7 and fell in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament. Senior Kristen Simon picked up a place on the All-Pac-12 Team, while junior Aliyah Mazyck earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and was a finalist for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. She and sophomore Minyon Moore both landed on the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. Along the way, Mazyck also set a new USC record for single-season 3-pointers made with 86.