USC Women Go East Again to Continue Road Run
November 30, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 30, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format
| Game Coverage | ||
| USC at No. 4 Xavier |  Live Audio | |
| USC at N.C. State | Live Audio | |
COMING UP NEXT
USC lines up for its third trip eastward as the Trojans (4-2) hit up Cincinnati and Raleigh for a pair of nonconference rematches as USC looks to avenge two losses taken last year. First up is a visit to No. 4 Xavier (5-0) for a 7 p.m. ET game on Thursday (Dec. 2) before going back to North Carolina for a clash with NC State (3-4) at 2 p.m. on Sunday (Dec. 5).
FOLLOW ALONG
This week's games will have live audio provided by Jason Schwartz. Live stats through GameTracker for all games also will be available online through the women's basketball page at usctrojans.com.
IN THE NATION
USC is not ranked but is receiving votes in the latest AP poll. Xavier is ranked No. 4 in this week's polls, and NC State is unranked.
INJURY REPORT
USC incoming freshman forward Thaddesia Southall will redshirt this season due to an ACL injury sustained before arriving at USC. Three Women of Troy redshirted last season due to knee injuries -- G Stefanie Gilbreath, F Michelle Jenkins and G Vicky Tagalicod. Gilbreath returned to action for USC's season opener against Gonzaga on Nov. 12, while Jenkins and Tagalicod are expected to return at the start of 2011.
RECENT ACTION
USC finished up with a split at the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament last week, edged out in the last seconds by Princeton for a 60-59 loss before bouncing back with a 78-59 win over Quinnipiac. Christina Marinacci was named to the All-Tournament Team for her 11 points vs. Princeton and a powerful double-double vs. the Bobcats in which she had 15 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. Ashley Corral had the hot hand against Princeton, finishing with 21 points, but USC had to continuously fight off attacks from the Tigers, and ultimately ran out of fight in the late goings. Missed late free throws by the Trojans were answered by a pair of makes by Princeton to take back the lead for the first time since the first half with five ticks to go. USC was unable to respond to steal back the win, and took the tight loss to move into the consolation game. Corral had worked her way into double digits by halftime for the Trojans to keep USC an important step ahead of Princeton. USC was shooting at a 42 percent clip by the break, leading Princeton's 33 percent effort but still off-kilter in committing untimely turnovers. Princeton's extra push on the boards in the second half left the count even at 45 apiece, but it was the effort at the stripe that turned the tide on the Trojans. USC was 6-of-13 from the line in the second half to finish out at 50 percent (9-of-18), while Princeton heated up and was 80 percent overall (16-of-20) after going 13-of-16 in the second half. In Sunday's consolation game, USC had to fend off a hot-shooting Quinnipiac squad in the first half, fighting back from trailing four times before the Bobcats locked it up 35-35 for halftime. The Trojans regrouped for the second half to put distance between themselves and Quinnipiac. Briana Gilbreath finished up leading all scorers with 18 points to go with a career-high 14 rebounds for a double-double effort to go along with Marinacci'sUSC finished the game shooting 35 percent, a step behind Quinnipiac's 37 percent outing, but was well ahead on the boards in outrebounding the Bobcats 58-36. The 3-point game was claimed by Quinnipiac with the Bobcats nailing 7-of-17 to outpace USC's 3-of-21 effort.
SCOUTING XAVIER
The Musketeers enter the week 5-0 overall and ranked No. 4 in the national polls after beating Troy 99-37 and Delaware State 72-41 last weekend. Amber Harris leads Xavier in scoring with 20.8 points per game, while Ta'Shia Phillips averages a double-double with 15.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Kevin McGuff is in his ninth season as head coach of the Musketeers, which went 30-4 overall last season, winning their conference and reaching the NCAA Elite Eight. USC is 0-1 all-time against Xavier, falling in overtime 81-71 in the teams' first-ever meeting last season at the Galen Center.
SCOUTING NC STATE
The Wolfpack enters the week at 3-4 overall after falling to Nevada 74-70 and to Minnesota 71-67 last weekend. Amber White and Bonae Holston lead NC State in scoring with 14.9 and 14.4 points per game, respectively, with Holston adding a team-high 9.6 rebounds per game. Kellie Harper is in her seventh season as head coach of the Wolfpack, which went 20-14 overall last season. USC is 0-1 all-time against NC State, falling 59-53 in the teams' first-ever meeting last season at the Galen Center.
EARLY TAKEDOWNS
The Trojans have turned some heads in the early goings of the season in serving up upsets of two ranked teams in USC's first four games. The Women of Troy opened the year with a 79-73 win over No. 22 Gonzaga and later handed out a 71-63 win over No. 17 Georgia. Both those wins came at the Galen Center, where USC has notched three wins so far. Against Gonzaga, USC used a 12-0 run early in the second half to overcome a seven-point halftime deficit to get the win behind double-doubles from Briana Gilbreath and Christina Marinacci. The junior Gilbreath finished with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Marinacci had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Cassie Harberts tallied 16 points in her Trojan debut. Gilbreath (15), Marinacci (13) and Cassie Harberts (12) combined to score 40 of the Trojans' 49-second half points to lead the team to victory in the season opener for both schools. The game also marked the first-ever game action for redshirt sophomore Stefanie Gilbreath, who has been sidelined for three straight seasons due to knee injuries. Stefanie tallied her first points and first rebound in her five minutes on the floor for her collegiate debut. Against Georgia, USC faced its third ranked team in four games, this time fighting out of an 11-point hole in the first half and ultimately holding off the Bulldogs' comeback attempts to stake a claim on another upset win for the year with USC's 71-63 victory. USC finished by forcing a grand total of 20 turnovers out of the Bulldogs, while committing 14 of its own. Jacki Gemelos joined Ashley Corral (team-high 15 points) in double digits for the Trojans with 14 on the night.
AWARD-WINNING OPENING
Briana Gilbreath has kicked off the season with a bang, standing as the first player of the season to pick up Pac-10 Player of the Week honors. It's the first career selection for Gilbreath, who opened the year with a double-double to lead USC to an upset win over No. 22 Gonzaga in the Trojans' season opener. Gilbreath had a game-high 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, scoring 15 of her final 21 points during the second half in helping to push USC to a comeback win. The 21-point outing was just a point away from Gilbreath's career high,
ALL-AMERICAN GIRLS
The USC roster is loaded up with six 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 coming in with All-American accolades is WBCA honoree Cassie Harberts, who kicked off her career as a Trojan with a 16-point outing in her USC debut.
JACKI'S BACK
After almost four years on the sidelines with knee injuries, Jacki Gemelos -- a high school All-American and the nation's top recruit as a freshman in 2006 -- took to the court for the first game action of her Trojan career on Feb. 4, 2010 at Cal. She already has completed her undergraduate degree, but this week, she's playing in the first USC season opener of her career. Now currently pursuing a master's in gerontology, Gemelos starts her first full season of competition healthy and strong. Gemelos has been granted one more season of eligibility after this 2010-11 season.
LEADING THE PAC
USC has four Pac-10 honorees back on the roster this season. Junior guards Ashley Corral and Briana Gilbreath were USC's leading scorers last year, and both landed on the 2010 All-Pac-10 Team as sophomores. Gilbreath was the Pac-10's Co-Defensive Player of the Year as well. Senior center Kari LaPlante earned 2010 Pac-10 Defensive Honorable Mention, and forward Christina Marinacci was a Pac-10 All-Freshman Honorable Mention recipient last season.
LAST YEAR
Under first-year collegiate head coach Michael Cooper -- a former NBA star with the Los Angeles Lakers and a WNBA head coach for the Los Angeles Sparks -- USC finished 19-12 overall and carried a six-game winning streak into the Pac-10 Tournament semifinals. With Cooper's guidance, the Women of Troy set several new program records in that 2009-10 season, posting USC's best-ever free-throw percentage (.725) while tallying the fewest turnovers (462) and fewest fouls (484) committed in Trojan history.
SENIOR STRENGTH
At the head of the class for 2010-11 is 6-foot-5 senior center Kari LaPlante -- one of only two true seniors on the USC roster. She and Michelle Franco were USC's lone freshmen in 2007 and will finish their careers having split time between two different coaching staffs at Troy. Under the defensive-minded Cooper's guidance last year as a junior, LaPlante picked up accolades with Pac-10 All-Defensive Honorable Mention.
GREAT PATIENCE
Arguably the most inspiring aspect of the year to come is seeing two hard-working Trojans finally take the floor for their first full seasons at USC. After being knocked back by multiple knee injuries, the 2006 top recruit in the nation and McDonald's All-American Jacki Gemelos returned to competition for the final 11 games of last season. Meanwhile, stuck on the sideline for her third straight season due to knee injuries was Stefanie Gilbreath -- another McDonald's All-American out of high school. It's been a heartbreakingly long road back for both Women of Troy, but this season marks a long-awaited milestone for Gemelos and Gilbreath. They both appeared in USC's season opener, and have stepped right into their roles as contributors for the Women of Troy.
FAMILY REUNION
When Stefanie Gilbreath hit the court for the first time in USC's season opener on Nov. 12, it was a long-awaited on-court reunion for USC's sister act. Older by a year, Stefanie now beats out junior sister Briana in remaining eligibility. It's been four years since the pair lasted suited up in the same uniform for gametime -- when Stefanie was a senior in high school and Briana was a junior at Cinco Ranch High in Katy, Texas. They both came out of high school as McDonald's All-Americans, although Stefanie's knee troubles stalled out her Trojan debut while Briana picked up Pac-10 Freshman of the Year recognition and All-Pac-10 Team honors in her first two seasons at USC.
THE NEW CLASS
The other key element of added success for USC in the coming season is Michael Cooper's first class of recruits. Ranked No. 7 in the nation (according to hoopgurlz.com) as a group, the newest Trojans on the roster are a well-rounded group of impact players. USC's 2010 freshman class includes WBCA All-American Cassie Harberts, who comes in as the nation's No. 11 ranked recruit. Speedy guard Len'Nique Brown and the versatile Desireé Bradley bolster the Trojan backcourt with even more firepower. The rest of the freshman class includes two true posts in 6-4 Lauren White and 6-4 Thaddesia Southall, although Southall will be sidelined for the year in recovering from knee surgery for an injury sustained in her final high school season.
PAC-10 COMES HOME
As in 2009 and 2010, postseason play kicks off on USC's home court. This season's 2011 Pac-10 Tournament will have a somewhat difference format from past seasons in that action will be split between the Galen Center and Staples Center. The first two round of play are all lined up for USC's home court of Galen Center. The semifinals and championship game, however, will move over to Staples Center to run alongside the Pac-10 Men's Tournament. The women's tourney will run March 9-12. Visit www.pac-10.org for more information and for tickets.
