USC Visits Fresno State Before Pac-10 Openers
December 28, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2010
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COMING UP NEXT
USC's next competition takes the Trojans (7-3) to Fresno for a nonconference matchup against host Fresno State (8-4) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday (Dec. 29). USC will then ring in the New Year with the start of Pac-10 action, as the Women of Troy visit Washington State (2-10) for a 1 p.m. game on Friday (Dec. 31) before going to face Washington (5-4) at 2 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 2).
FOLLOW ALONG
This week's road games will have live audio provided by Jason Schwartz available through usctrojans.com. 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. Fresno State, Washington State and Washington all are unranked this week.
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, but was recently sidelined as of Dec. 17 by a foot injury. Jenkins and Tagalicod are expected to return at the start of 2011.
RECENT ACTION
USC weathered a second-half storm from San Diego State in pulling off a 74-64 win over the visiting Aztecs to wrap up the championship of the Women of Troy Basketball Classic at the Galen Center last weekend. Ashley Corral led all scorers with 23 points on the night, helping lift the Trojans to their third straight win. Corral was joined in double figures by Christina Marinacci with 14 points and Briana Gilbreath and Jacki Gemelos with 13 points apiece as USC shot 40 percent from the floor in the game. San Diego State shot 41 percent. The previous day, USC generated a solid second half to put some distance between the Trojans and Colorado in a preview of a future conference matchup. The Women of Troy wrapped up a 68-54 win over the visiting Buffaloes in the first game of the 2010 Women of Troy Basketball Tournament. Corral and Gilbreath had 14 points apiece and were joined in double figures by teammates Cassie Harberts and Jacki Gemelos with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Gilbreath also tied her career high of five steals as she had a big hand in forcing 24 Colorado turnovers. Gilbreath was named the tournament MVP, with Corral and Davis joined on the All-Tournament Team by Colorado's Brittany Spears and Dayton's Justine Raterman.
SCOUTING FRESNO STATE
The Bulldogs are 8-4 overall after falling to UC Santa Barbara 54-52 and beating Southern Miss 88-51 in their last action. Jaleesa Ross leads Fresno State in scoring with 14.3 points per game, followed by 12.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game from Mayley Munro. Adrian Wiggins is in his fifth season as head coach of the Bulldogs, who went 27-7 overall last season with a trip to the NCAA First Round. USC is 3-4 all-time against Fresno State, taking four losses in the early 1970s but having won the past three meetings including a 68-63 win last season at the Galen Center.
SCOUTING WSU
The Cougars are 2-10 overall after falling to San Diego State 66-57 in their fourth consecutive loss. Carly Noyes and Sage Romberg lead WSU in scoring with 9.4 and 8.3 points per game, respectively. June Daugherty is in her fourth season as head coach of the Cougars, who went 8-22 overall last season and finished 3-15 in Pac-10 play. USC is 38-12 all-time against Washington State after having a 19-game win streak snapped with last season's Pac-10 split. USC beat the Cougars 61-51 in Pullman, but lost 64-52 at the Galen Center last season.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON
The Huskies are 5-4 overall after beating Western Michigan 59-40 and falling to Georgia Tech 60-27 in their last action. Regina Rogers lead UW in scoring with 18.0 and 17.2 points per game, respectively. Tia Jackson is in her fourth season as head coach of the Huskies, who went 13-18 overall last season and finished 7-11 in Pac-10 play. USC is 25-28 all-time against UW with wins in the past five games including last season's 69-65 win in Seattle and a 56-51 win at the Galen Center.
EARLY TAKEDOWNS
The Trojans 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 is now a perfect 5-0 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. 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. The game also marked the first-ever game action for redshirt sophomore Stefanie Gilbreath, who had 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. Jacki Gemelos joined Ashley Corral (team-high 15 points) in double digits for the Trojans with 14 on the night.
ROAD TESTED
The Trojans are 2-2 against ranked teams to date, with those two losses coming in lengthy road trips to top-five teams as USC paid a visit to No. 5 Duke and No. 4 Xavier. The early test against the Blue Devils in Cameron Indoor didn't go well for USC in the Trojans' first road trip of the year, but USC didn't let that loss shake its confidence. A little over two weeks later, USC paid a visit to No. 4 Xavier and had the Musketeers on the ropes. The Trojans led by three with 2 minutes to go, but Xavier closed in on a pair of free throws and then worked ahead to snag a slim win over USC. The Trojans have spent half their time outside the Pacific Time Zone and has gone 2-3 on the road with wins coming in neutral territory against Quinnipiac and on the home court of NC State.
AWARD-WINNING OPENING
Briana Gilbreath 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 was 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. Three weeks later, Gilbreath repeated as the Pac-10 Player of the Week -- a feat last achieved by a Trojan in 1996 by Tina Thompson. In a long road trip through a few more time zones, Gilbreath beat her previous career high scoring total in back-to-back games. Up against the nation's No. 4 team in Xavier, Gilbreath had a double-double with a career-best 26 points to go with 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the year. Gilbreath's four 3-pointers hit in the Xavier game also was a new career high. Still on the road, the Trojans then visited NC State, with Gilbreath leading the way again with 23 points and a team-high seven rebounds as the Trojans beat the Wolfpack 84-75 to wrap up a strong road split. Gilbreath hit seven 3-pointers across the two games to go with five assists and four steals. Gilbreath is now averaging 14.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the Trojans.
PAC-10 HAT TRICK
Ashley Corral snagged USC's third Pac-10 Player of the Week honor this season -- the junior's second pick of her career -- after helping lead the Trojans to wins at the Women of Troy Basketball Tournament. Already recently locked in as USC's No. 3 all-time 3-point shooter, Corral ran her total up to 162 career threes in providing game-high scoring for USC in wins over Colorado and San Diego State. Named to the All-Tournament Team, Corral coupled 14 points against future conference-mate Colorado with a team-high seven rebounds as USC beat the Buffs 68-54. The next day, Corral opened the championship game against San Diego State with a 5-of-5 effort from the floor, scoring USC's first 10 points of the game and finishing with 23 points to go with six assists and five rebounds. Corral went down with an injury in the second half, but was able to return and provide key points for USC as the Trojans pulled out of a four-point game to beat the Aztecs 74-64. Corral's selection marks the first time since 1996-97 that the Trojans have had more than two Player of the Week honors in a single season as she joins Briana Gilbreath's pair of picks to date. Corral currently leads USC in scoring with 14.8 points per game.
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. For the first time in five seasons, USC started the season with all its All-Americans healthy and on the court. This year's crew is accounting for 86 percent of USC's scoring. Briana Gilbreath, Corral, Gemelos and Marinacci are all averaging in double figures to date, with Harberts not far behind at 7.9 and Stefanie Gilbreath getting back her game with 3.1 ppg in seven appearances so far.
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 has started her first full season of competition healthy and strong. Gemelos has been granted one more season of eligibility after this 2010-11 season. Currently, Gemelos is third on the team in scoring with 11.3 points per game and is a near-flawless 19-of-22 from the free-throw line.
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. LaPlante is currently averaging 5.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game as USC's starting center.
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.
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.
GREAT PATIENCE
Arguably the most inspiring aspect of the year to come has been 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 stepped right into their roles as contributors for the Women of Troy.
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.
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.
