USC
12-4, 4-1
Oregon State
7-10, 0-6
USC Women Lock In On Seventh Straight Win At Galen
January 15, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2011
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The USC women's basketball team kept its grip tight on an undefeated stand at the Galen Center in posting a 53-45 win over visiting Oregon State on Saturday afternoon. Now a solid 7-0 at home, the Trojans improved their overall record to 12-4 while going up to 4-1 in Pac-10 play with today's victory. It was the fewest points scored by the Trojans in a win, but thanks to double figures from Christina Marinacci, Briana Gilbreath and Ashley Corral, and a concerted effort on the boards, USC got the job done to tally the win. Oregon State goes to 7-10, 0-6 with the loss.
Once again, extra effort on the boards helped keep USC a step ahead. Cassie Harberts had eight rebounds by halftime to help anchor the Trojans' 25-18 rebounding effort. A couple key threes from Ashley Corral also aided in boosting USC ahead by halftime, as the Trojans held a 23-19 advantage at the break. Harberts would finish with 12 rebounds on the day, with Christina Marinacci adding eight to go with the sophomore's game-high 14 points. USC barely edged out the Beavers' shooting effort, hitting at 32 percent from the floor to OSU's 31 percent. USC finished the game ahead on the boards 46-38. The Beavers were led by 10 points apiece from El Sara Greer and Alyssa Martin.
A three from Briana Gilbreath and a score in the paint from Kari LaPlante pushed USC to its largest lead of the game as the Trojans went up 38-30 with 10:20 on the clock. Free throws converted by Harberts made it a 7-0 run for USC made it a 10-point lead for USC soon after, although the Beavers would close to five entering the last six minutes. The Women of Troy were able to stay out of reach down the stretch, however, as Ashley Corral and Christina Marinacci worked into double figures to join Briana Gilbreath in that column
USC now heads out on the road for a Pac-10 trip through the Bay Area. The Trojans will visit Cal first for a 7 p.m. clash in Berkeley on Thursday (Jan. 20) before taking on powerhouse Stanford at 2 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 22).
