Friday, January 31
Tempe, Ariz.
10:00 AM
USC
at
Arizona State
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Percy Anderson
USC Women Hit Road For Rematches At No. 19 ASU And No. 16 Arizona
January 28, 2020 | Women's Basketball, Features
Upset-minded Trojans visit the Sun Devils on Friday morning and take on the Wildcats on Sunday.
USC (11-8, 3-5) at No. 19 Arizona St. (15-5, 5-3)
Desert Financial Arena | Tempe, Ariz.
Friday, Feb. 1 | 10 a.m. PT
Series Record: USC leads 56-56
Home: 31-10 | Away: 23-15 | Neutral: 2-0
Last Meeting: L, 63-54 (Jan. 5, 2020 • Los Angeles)
Current Streak: USC lost 2
TV: P12N/LA/AZ Â (PbB: Cindy Brunson; Analyst: Maylana Douglas)
USC (11-8, 3-5) at No. 16 Arizona (16-3, 5-3)
McKale Center | Tucson, Ariz.
Sunday, Feb. 3 | 11 a.m. PTÂ
Series Record: USC leads 58-25
Home: 31-11 | Away: 25-13 | Neutral: 2-1
Last Meeting: L, 65-57 (Jan. 3, 2020 • Los Angeles)
Current Streak: USC lost 3
TV: Pac-12 Networks (PbB: Brian Webber; Analyst: Joan Bonvincini)
THIS WEEKÂ
USC packs up a three-game win streak as it looks for revenge on the road in Arizona. The Trojans are upset-minded as they enter rematches with two ranked conference opponents this week. USC (11-8, 3-5 Pac-12) will first face No. 19 Arizona State (15-5, 5-3) at 10 a.m. PT on Friday (Feb. 1) morning in Tempe. Then, it's over to Tucson to tangle with No. 16 Arizona (16-3, 5-3) at 11 a.m. PT on Sunday (Feb. 3).
Â
Â
IN THE NATION
USC is unranked in the latest AP and Coaches polls.Â
Â
Â
SCOUTING ASU
The No. 19 Sun Devils are 15-5 overall and 5-3 in Pac-12 play after losing 59-53 to Arizona last week. Ja'Tavia Tapley leads ASU with 12.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. In a series dating back to the 1977-78 season, USC is 56-26 all-time against the Sun Devils after a 63-54 loss to ASU earlier this year.
Â
Â
SCOUTING ARIZ
The No. 16 Wildcats enter the week 16-3 overall and 5-3 in Pac-12 play after a 59-53 win over Arizona State last week. Aari McDonald leads Arizona in scoring with 20.5 points per game, and Cate Reese leads on the boards with 7.9 rebounds per game. In a series dating back to the 1977-782 season, USC is 58-25 all-time against the Wildcats after a 65-57 loss to Arizona earlier this year.
Â
Â
INJURY REPORT
Shalexxus Aaron (foot) and Madison Campbell (back) have not yet competed for USC this season due to injuries. Stephanie Watts (knee) has missed recent games, and her return is uncertain.
Â
Â
LAST ACTION
USC made it a three-game win streak with another victorious home stand at Galen Center last week. USC powered up for a 74-63 win over WSU on Friday night and then turned around and made a winning comeback to beat Washington 81-78 in overtime. USC's freshman tandem of Alissa Pili and Endyia Rogers was a force to reckon with, as both had back-to-back 20-point games. Pili had double-doubles in both games, and Rogers set new career highs each game. Against WSU, it was a 12-0 USC rally in the fourth quarter that turned a three point margin into a hefty USC lead entering the final two minutes. By the final buzzer, USC had shot 42.9 percent from the floor and landed eight 3-pointers. WSU hit at a 38.7 percent clip and landed 11 threes, but USC controlled the boards 44-30 while getting 20-point games from Pili and Rogers. Pili finished up with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Rogers had a career-high 21 points. Senior Aliyah Jeune added 12 points for the Trojans. WSU also had three players hit double digits — Jovana Subasic with 13, Chanelle Molina with 11 and Borislava Hristova 10. Two days later, USC trailed by as much as 14 points before turning the tide, forcing overtime and finishing out the win over visiting Washington. Rogers scored 24 points in the last 25 minutes of the game, icing two free throws with eight seconds left in overtime to help lock in a dramatic USC victory.  After trailing by 12 at halftime, USC improved down the line in the next stretch, outrebounding the Huskies 22-16 and outscoring them 56-41 in the next 25 minutes. By the time the buzzer sounded on the Trojans' overtime victory, USC had heated up to 43.3 percent from the floor to outpace Washington's final 37.3 percent. Rogers went big with a new career-high 29 points and nine assists, tallying the most points by a Trojan this season. Rogers also was 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. Fellow freshman Alissa Pili recorded her third consecutive double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds, and senior captain Desiree Caldwell finished with 10 points. Washington received a team-high 17 points from Amber Melgoza along with 16-point outings from Mai-Loni Henson and Haley Van Dyke, who combined for seven of Washington's 11 threes in the game.
Â
Â
BEATING THE BRUINS
USC was down by six in double overtime and fought back to upset No. 7 UCLA 70-68 on Jan. 17 at Galen Center, handing the Bruins their first loss of the season to take out the only remaining undefeated team in the nation. Aliyah Jeune was the driving force for the Trojans in this one, hitting six 3-pointers and finishing with 27 points to go along with a 13 rebounds. But it was freshman Alissa Pili who calmly converted a three-point play with 28 seconds left that lifted USC to the winning margin, and USC fended off its crosstown rival in the final stretch to earn the victory. USC trailed by six out of the gates but eked out a slim lead, fighting through seven lead changes in the first 10 minutes. During that time, though, UCLA went cold, landing a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:10 on the clock and then stalling out. Only free throws fell for the Bruins for the rest of the half — two in the first quarter and only two in the second while the Trojans crafted a 30-17 halftime lead with a 12-0 rally to top it off. USC would wrap the first half shooting 39.4 percent from the floor to UCLA's 18.2 percent. USC also had the edge on the boards 25-21 by the break. Madness ensued as the rivals went toe-to-toe through double overtime for the first time in the programs' history. At the close of regulation, UCLA had warmed up to 26.8 percent from the floor while USC was at 37.5. By the final buzzer of the second overtime, a victorious USC had shot 39.1 percent overall to UCLA's 29.9 percent. Both teams hit eight 3-pointers — and made eight free throws — in the game, while USC won out on the boards 57-47. The Trojans saw Aliyah Jeune match her USC best of 27 points while notching her first double-double as a Trojan with her career-high 13 rebounds. Alissa Pili secured her sixth double-double with her 19 points and 17 rebounds, and Desiree Caldwell joined her teammates in double figures with 10 points on the night, while Kayla Overbeck hauled in 10 rebounds for the Trojan cause. In all, USC and UCLA fought through 15 lead changes before the Trojans edged ahead to stay.Â
Â
Â
PILI IS THE PAC-12 PICK
After providing the game-winning basket with 29 seconds left in double overtime to upset undefeated rival UCLA, freshman forward Alissa Pili earned honors as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Jan. 20. Pili punched up 19 points and hauled in a career-high 17 rebounds in the 70-68 victory over the No. 7 Bruins. Pili's heroic three-point play in the final stretch of double overtime was the difference in USC's win, which was the Trojans' first over a top-10 opponent since 2017. The victory also snapped a five-game losing skid for USC, while also putting a stop to UCLA's claim as the only undefeated team in the nation. With her 19 points and 17 rebounds, Pili recorded her sixth double-double of the year along with her 11th game scoring in double figures. In the second 5-minute overtime alone, Pili had six points and four rebounds to help anchor USC's comeback from a six-point deficit to victory. Pili is the first Pac-12 honoree from USC this season. The last Trojan to be named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week had been Shalexxus Aaron on Feb. 5, 2019.
Â
Â
ROGERS TO THE RESCUE
Endyia Rogers set new career highs in back-to-back USC victories and earned herself a pick as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Jan. 27, making it back-to-back weeks with a Trojan on that honor roll after Alissa Pili's award on Jan. 20. Rogers upped her previous career-high with a 21-point outing in a win over Washington State before going even bigger with 29 points — the most by a USC player this season — in an overtime victory over Washington. Rogers also added a career-high nine assists versus the Huskies, and poured out 24 points in the last 25 minutes of the game. Two of those points came from the free-throw line with eight seconds remaining in overtime as the freshman secured victory for her team. She had also scored the game-tying bucket to force overtime six minutes earlier. In her weekend's work, Rogers had back-to-back 20-point games for the first time in her collegiate career. Rogers is the fifth Trojan all-time to be named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.
Â
Â
THE "VETS"Â
Of USC's three seniors on the roster, only post Kayla Overbeck has logged minutes in Cardinal and Gold. Overbeck joined the Trojans as a transfer from Vanderbilt last season. She's flanked on the roster this season by two other transfers — guards Stephanie Watts (from North Carolina) and Aliyah Jeune (from Morehead State) — who have chosen to play out their remaining eligibility as Trojans. Overbeck, Shalexxus Aaron and sophomore guard Desiree Caldwell are USC's three returners from the 2018-19 season that saw the Trojans come up just shy of a postseason push with a 17-13 overall record. Â
Â
Â
THE NEW CLASS
Nine new faces are on the roster for 2019-20. In addition to grad transfers Aliyah Jeune and Stephanie Watts, USC has seven true freshmen in the mix, with two of those young guns standing out as USC's top scorers to date. Freshman forward Alissa Pili leads USC with 13.8 points and 8.6 rebounds points per game so far, while guard Endyia Rogers  is just a step behind, averaging 12.5 points per game. The two have each tallied 13 double-digit games apiece, and Pili also already has hauled in eight double-doubles as a Trojan. Pili has fellow freshman Angel Jackson also making an impact in the paint with 7.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while the rest of the freshman class makes for a talented back court in guards Madison Campbell, Alyson Miura, India Otto and Kyra White.Â
Â
Â
PREP STARS
Several Women of Troy had especially decorated high school careers. Two were McDonald's All-Americans — Angel Jackson and Stephanie Watts — with Jackson also earning Jordan Brand honors, and Watts  as an Naismith High School All-American honoree. Three Trojans also were their state Player of the Year — Watts (North Carolina),  Alissa Pili (Alaska — a three-time honoree) and Endyia Rogers (Texas).
Â
Â
STEPH SCORES A WATCH LIST SPOT
As she set up for her first season as a Trojan, grad transfer Stephanie Watts earned a place on the Preseason Watch List for the prestigious Ann Meyers Drysdale Award. Watts is one of 20 candidates on the Preseason Watch List, as announced Oct. 22 by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Watts joins the Women of Troy this season as a grad transfer from North Carolina, where she was the 2016 ACC Freshman of the Year and later led the team in 3-pointers made as a redshirt junior last season. In her three seasons as a Tar Heel, she scored 1,320 points. In her final season, she averaged 15.2 point, 5.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while knocking down 82 threes. 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 third year — recognizes the top shooting guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball.
Â
Â
LAST SEASONÂ
USC finished up the 2018-19 season with a 17-13 overall record after going 7-11 in Pac-12 play and with a loss in the Pac-12 Tournament first round. Seniors Aliyah Mazyck and Mariya Moore and junior Minyon Moore earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, with Mazyck and Minyon Moore both also landing on the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.Â
Women's Basketball Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb Media Availability 9/18/25
Thursday, September 18
USC WBB's Lindsay Gottlieb, Rayah Marshall and Talia von Oelhoffen | Trojan Press Conference
Monday, March 31
USC WBB heads to the Elite 8, defeats Kansas State in Sweet 16 | Rapid Reaction
Saturday, March 29
Kennedy Smith on USC WBB heading to the Elite Eight, Trojan freshmen getting the job done
Saturday, March 29
