USC
Biola (exhibition)
USC Bests Biola 93-66 In Exhibition Action
November 09, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 9, 2010
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The USC women's basketball team settled down and stayed strong in its exhibition opener to the 2010-11 season, serving up a 93-66 win over visiting Biola on Tuesday night at the Galen Center. Five different Women of Troy hit double digits in the game, led by 19 points from senior Kari LaPlante. USC's official season opener comes up on Friday, with the Trojans hosting No. 22 Gonzaga in a 1 p.m. showdown at Galen.
In tonight's exhibition action against Biola, USC found balance on the floor while staying near-spotless from the free-throw line. LaPlante was joined in double figures by freshmen Cassie Harberts (14 points) and Len'Nique Brown (11 points) as well as sophomore Christina Marinacci (17 points) and redshirt junior Jacki Gemelos (12 points). All told, nine different Trojans got on the board, with junior Ashley Corral coming close to a double-digit outing on the assists front, serving up nine on the night. Biola was led in scoring by Jessilyn Conicelli and Jennifer French with 13 points apiece.
Back-to-back buckets from senior Kari LaPlante helped spark the Trojan offense early, as Ashley Corral helped spread the ball around and USC kept up a fast pace in opening up an 11-point lead on Biola. Free throws from Len'Nique Brown lifted USC ahead 17-6, and a Corral three answered one from the Eagles to keep the Trojans up 11. Biola fired back, however, closed the gap and equalizing on a 3-pointer from Lauren Gustafson to put the pressure on the host Women of Troy. USC responded with a punch of youth in the paint. After hauling down a rebound, Christina Marinacci fed it out to Corral for a three that gave USC some room to work. Freshman Cassie Harberts delivered back-to-back scores down low later to take USC ahead 36-28 just under the 4-minute mark. The Trojans topped off the half with a nice pick and roll between senior LaPlante and freshman Brown, with Brown feeding LaPlante for the layup that gave USC a 44-33 lead ahead of the buzzer.
As LaPlante and Marinacci worked themselves into double figures in the early goings of the second half, Corral was closing in on double-digit assists. Her eighth of the night found LaPlante down low for a 59-40 USC advantage, and the Trojans seemed to have found their groove. Corral's ninth assist put USC up by 20 on a bucket from Marinacci, and Harberts joined the crew in double figures with a stretch of free throws and a score that boosted USC up 70-45 as the teams crossed the 10-minutes mark. Harberts' fellow freshman Desiree Bradley got in on the scoring action with 8:15 to go, making it a total of eight Women of Troy in the books with points. Meanwhile, freshman Brown hit double digits a few minutes later, and Jacki Gemelos got in the mix as well as her 10th points of the night got USC an 80-57 lead, putting the Trojans well on their way to victory lane.
Tuesday, Nov. 9 - Galen Center
USC 93, Biola 66 (exhibition game)
USC 44 - 49 = 93
BU 33 - 33 = 66
FG%:
USC 49.2% (32-65)
BU 46.0% (23-50)
3FG%:
USC 33.3% (4-12)
BU 38.9% (7-18)
FT%:
USC 78.1% (25-32)
BU 76.5% (13-17)
