University Southern California Trojans
USC
Washington St
Tiffany Elmore Leads Women Of Troy Past Washington State
March 11, 2000 | Women's Basketball
March 11, 2000
PULLMAN, Wash. - Tiffany Elmore, Tiffany Washington and Danielle Golay combined for 41 points to lead the USC Women of Troy to a 62-59 win over host Washington State on Saturday at Friel Court.
Elmore led all scorers with 16 points, but none may have been important as her layin with 2:45 to play that boosted USC (15-13 overall, 10-8 in league play) to a 57-56 lead it never gave up. Washington added 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for her second straight double-double, while Golay tallied 12 points for the Trojans.
Yvonne Volkman led WSU (4-24, 1-17) with 12 points, while senior Alke Dietel added 11 for the Cougars, who were on top 35-28 at the half, but were then outscored 34-24 over the final 20 minutes. The Cougars had their best shooting performance of the year in the first half, hitting 13-of-21(62 percent), but in the second half they were equally as cold, making just six of 26 shots (23 percent).
"I don't think USC adjusted defensively in the second half as much as we just missed lay-ups," said WSU head coach Jenny Przekwas. "We just haven't learned how to maintain focus from Thursday to Saturday, from the first half to the second half, and from shooting the ball at the beginning of the game to shooting at the end."
WSU's 18-for-21 at the free throw line against USC boosted the team percentage to school record 74.4, easily breaking the 1989 club's 72.3 percentage. WSU went into the game leading the Pac-10 at 73.8 percent.
The Trojans finished with a commanding 45-27 lead in rebounding, including 22 offensive boards that led to numerous second and third shots. They outrebounded WSU 28-17 in the second half, including 12 at the offensive end of the court.
WSU took a 9-0 lead at the start of the game, including five points from Dietel. USC did not score until Washington's layin nearly four minutes into the game. The Cougars led by as many as 12 points in the opening half and had a 10 point advantage in the final minute before Erica Mashia tossed in a three pointer with time running out on the shot clock.
All seven ties and three lead changes occurred in the final 13 minutes of the game, with USC taking their first lead 41-40 on Washington's layin with 12:22 to play. Later Kerns hit one of two free throws to give the Cougars their final lead 56-55 with 3:29 to play.
That set the stage for Elmore's crucial layin as the Trojans outscored WSU 7-3 over the final three minutes. USC closed out the season winning seven of their final nine games, including two straight wins in the state of Washington. It was the first time in three years they have swept WSU and Washington.
"I think we're a pretty sure bet for the NIT," offered USC head coach Chris Gobrecht. "I don't hold out much hope for the NCAA unless unless they look at the fact we were so hot over the second half of the season. We went 7-2 in the second round of the Pac-10."
