USC
Stanford*
LeNoir Gives Trojans Upset Over No. 2 Stanford
January 06, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2008
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LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The USC women's basketball team put a stop to a long losing streak against one of the nation's best, as Camille LeNoir served up the winning shot for the Trojans in a 73-72 upset win over No. 2 Stanford on Sunday afternoon at the Galen Center. The Cardinal had beaten the Women of Troy the past 10 games, dating back through to a USC victory on Jan. 25, 2004. LeNoir led USC in scoring with a season-best 21 points, and Heather Oliver and Nadia Parker also added double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Stanford got a game-high double-double from Jayne Appel with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Candice Wiggins added 17 for the Cardinal, and Kayla Pedersen added 14. USC improves to 9-6 overall and 2-2 in Pac-10 play with the big win. Stanford moves to 12-3, 2-2 after losing the past two games.
The Trojans kept a tight leash on the Cardinal on Sunday in a game that saw 10 tie scores and 10 lead changes. In the end, USC's perimeter effort - led by a career-high five 3-pointers from LeNoir - helped the Trojans balance out Stanford's strong inside presence. USC hit 11 threes in the game, shooting 58 percent from 3-point range and 51 percent in the game. Stanford was 15 percent from 3-point range and finished 44 percent from the floor. The Cardinal boasted a powerful rebounding advantage over the Trojans, however, grabbing 38 to USC's 23.
Five first-half 3-pointers helped USC counter its trouble on the offensive boards during the first half, keeping USC in stride with the Cardinal. Stanford had opened up a six-point lead midway through the half, but the Women of Troy closed the gap and tied things up 24-24 when Aarika Hughes knocked down the Trojans' fourth 3-pointer of the half. Brynn Cameron helped force a Stanford turnover, and Hailey Dunham finished off the fast break with a pull-up jumper that gave USC a 26-24 lead with 5:15 on the clock. LeNoir converted in the paint and then drilled her third 3-pointer of the half to boost USC to its largest lead of the game, up 31-26 with 1:15 left in the half. Stanford got another low score from Jayne Appel to get her to 10 points in the half, then saw Jillian Harmon rebound her own free-throw miss to set up one last possession for Stanford in the half. Candice Wiggins would knock down her first points from the floor and Stanford's first three of the day to pull the Cardinal even and make it 32-32 for halftime.
LeNoir's career-best fifth 3-pointer boosted the Trojans up 43-39 - she had hit her fourth to open the half - and Heather Oliver converted a three-point play later to help USC match its largest lead of the game, up 46-41 at 15:54. Simone Jelks would get tagged for her third and fourth fouls of the game soon after, as free throws and a post score from Appel pulled it to a one-point game five minutes into the half. After three minutes of back-and-forth play, Stanford's Rosalyn Gold-Onwude hit a second three for the Cardinal to mark the fifth lead change of the game as Stanford went up 48-47 at 12:30.
USC finally pulled down its first offensive rebound of the game at 10:25, thanks to Nadia Parker. To top it off, she later hit a baseline jumper to tie things up for the game's fifth tie-up at 49-49 at the 10-minute mark. After a short Stanford run, Parker joined LeNoir and Oliver in double figures when she drained two free throws to cut Stanford's lead to 56-53 at 8:14. Carrying four fouls, Jelks re-entered the game and slipped in a putback for the Trojans to bring USC within one with 7 minutes remaining. USC's eighth three of the day came from Oliver to lift USC back into the lead with a 58-56 edge at 6:50.
Stanford moved ahead by five thanks to more post strength from Appel and a three-point play converted by Wiggins with 2:43 on the clock. A three from Allison Jaskowiak - USC's 11th long one of the day - cut into the lead and after USC pushed Stanford into a shot clock violation with 1:21 to go, Medlock hit Parker on the post for the tying score at 71-71 with 1:05 remaining. Fouled in the paint, Appel went to the line and hit just the back end of her free throws for a one-point Stanford edge with 38 seconds left. USC's final possession saw LeNoir cruise to the hoop under pressure. Her shot went off the rim for a long rebound that Oliver gathered in - USC's fourth offensive board of the night - to reset the offense. USC called a timeout with 14 seconds to go, and with only nine seconds on the clock, LeNoir let fly a smooth jumper that drained to bump USC into the lead 73-72. Wiggins would take the last shot for the Cardinal, but under pressure from Jaskowiak the shot was off the mark and the Trojans emerged with their first win over Stanford since early 2004.
USC now turns to hit the road and travel to Washington, first facing Washington State on Thursday (Jan. 10) on Pullman, and then heading to Seattle to play Washington in a televised game on Sunday (Jan. 13).
USC 73, #2 Stanford 72
STAN 32 - 40 -- 72
USC 32 - 41 -- 73
GAME NOTES:
- With a career-high five 3-pointers today, Camille LeNoir ranks No. 8 all-time at USC in career 3-pointers with 98.
- USC's last win over a top-10 team was exactly two years ago, on Jan. 6, 2006, a 58-50 win over No. 9 Arizona State at USC's Lyon Center.
- USC's win snaps a 10-game losing streak against Stanford. The Trojans' last win over the Cardinal was Jan. 25, 2004 in a 59-56 victory at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
USC vs Stanford Quotes
USC Head Coach Mark Trakh
"Camille [LeNoir], her freshman and sophomore year made a lot of big shots down the stretch like she did today. Nadia [Parker] and Heather [Oliver] also made lots of big shots for us today."
"Both teams were scoring and it was just one of those games where it just mattered who had the ball at the end of the game."
"We want to try and win 18 or 19 games this year to get an NCAA consideration because we want to get into the tournament this year. This win will definitely help us."
USC Guard Camille LeNoir
"I was just feeling it tonight. It was because of the defense of Allison [Jaskowiak] that we won tonight. She stopped Candice Wiggins."
"We played hard tonight. We are making our way up. We are playing better. We hit some slumps earlier in this year, but this win will definitely help us move up."
Stanford Head Coach Tara VanDerveer
"You have to credit USC. They made big plays when the needed to."
"They made a lot of big shots, but defensively we need to play harder. It was a really big weekend for Jayne [Appel]."
