Thursday, November 15
Los Angeles, CA
7:00 PM
USC
vs
UC Santa Barbara
Players Mentioned
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Photo by: John McGillen
USC Women Look To Stretch Winning Start With Two Home Tilts This Week
November 12, 2018 | Women's Basketball, Features
Women of Troy host UC Santa Barbara on Thursday night and Santa Clara on Saturday afternoon at Galen Center.
USC (2-0) vs. UC Santa Barbara (0-2)
Galen Center | Los Angeles, Calif.
Thursday, Nov. 15 | 7 p.m.
Series Record: USC leads 14-13
Last Meeting: W, 62-51 (Nov. 27, 2012 • Santa Barbara)
Current Streak: USC won 4
USC vs. Santa Clara
Galen Center | Los Angeles, Calif.
Saturday, Nov. 17 | 2 p.m.
Series Record: USC leads 4-0
Last Meeting: W, 64-43 (Nov. 17, 2017 • Santa Clara)
Current Streak: USC won 4
THIS WEEKÂ
USC looks to keep up its hot start to the 2018-19 season, returning to Galen Center for two home tilts this week. The Trojans (2-0) will host UC Santa Barbara (0-2) at 7 p.m. on Thursday (Nov. 15) before Santa Clara (2-0) comes to town for a 2 p.m. matchup on Saturday (Nov. 17).
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IN THE NATION
USC is is unranked in the latest AP poll.Â
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SCOUTING UCSB
The Gauchos are 0-2 overall after a 56-48 loss to CSU Bakersfield and a 63-54 loss at Utah Valley. Natalia Bruening and Bri Anugwom lead UCSB in scoring with 15.5 and 15.0 points per game, respectively. Bruening also leads on the boards with 13.5 rebounds per game. In a series dating back to 1971, USC is 14-13 all-time against UC Santa Barbara with wins in the past four meetings. USC beat UCSB 62-51 when the teams last met in 2012 in Santa Barbara.
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SCOUTING SCU
The Broncos opened the season 2-0 overall after beating Sonoma State 98-38 and beating Nevada 56-48 last week. Tia Hay leads SCU in scoring with 22.5 points per game, and Ashlyn Herlihy leads on the boards with 7.0 rebounds per game. In a series dating back to 1978, USC is 4-0 all-time against Santa Clara. USC beat SCU 64-43 when the teams met last year in Santa Clara.
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SEASON OPENER
USC's season opener was highlighted by debut performances from six new Trojans. Competing for USC for the first time, all six Trojans scored in a 73-55 win over visiting UC Riverside. A relative veteran at Troy, junior Minyon Moore led the way with a double-double — the fifth of her USC career — on a team-high 16 points and 12 rebounds to go with seven assists, as USC opened the 2018-19 campaign with a 1-0 mark. USC gripped a 12-point lead during the first half, but it would melt away as UC Riverside battled back to level it at 30-30 by halftime. That's when the Trojans turned the tide. USC outscored the Highlanders 27-12 in the third quarter to open things up, and the Trojans finished out the game shooting 44.6 percent from the floor to outpace UC Riverside's 38.3 outing. USC also outrebounded its visitors, 37-30, and went 50 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-20). One rebound shy of double digits at halftime, Minyon Moore collected three more in the second half while pumping out 12 second-half points. The first Trojan to hit double digits in the game, however, was senior transfer Mariya Moore, who shined in her Trojan debut with 11 points with three 3-pointers landed. Joining the 3-point parade for USC were two more Women of Troy hitting the court for the first time. Senior transfer Cheyanne Wallace went 2-for-2 from long distance, while redshirt freshman Shalexxus Aaron also tallied two treys in her first USC action. Junior transfer Kayla Overbeck may not have spotted up from beyond the arc, but she made her presence known down low, dumping in 10 points as she, too, hit the floor as a Trojan for the first time. Another newcomer to the paint at USC was freshman Jillian Archer, who provided five points on the night. True freshman guard Deisree Caldwell, meanwhile, had two points and two steals in her USC debut. In all, every USC player who got in the game would score in the victory. Junior Ja'Tavia Tapley was just short of double digits in finishing with nine points. Back in action after redshirting last season with injury was redshirt sophomore Asiah Jones, who had four points along with five boards tonight.
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GOING BIG IN LONG BEACH
At Long Beach State on Sunday, USC rode the wave of a power first-half performance for a powerful 85-50 road win with 10 Trojans scoring in the victory. The top scorer again was junior Minyon Moore, who dropped 21 points and added seven assists and seven rebounds. Also hitting double digits on the day was senior Aliyah Mazyck, who had 17 at halftime with four 3-pointers drained in those first 20 minutes of play. She'd finish up with 19 points, while fellow senior Mariya Moore knocked down two second-half threes to build out a 13-point effort that went along with nine rebounds. That trio was joined by seven other scorers on the USC scoresheet. Redshirt sophomore Asiah Jones finished up with a new career high, scoring nine points in the win. USC got out of the gates on a hot streak, scoring the first eight points as Mazyck drained back-to-back threes in that rally. The Trojans would shoot 63 percent from the floor in that first quarter, cooling only slightly to 57 percent in the second as USC unfurled a 51-22 halftime advantage. While USC seemed to turn down the volume in the third, Long Beach State cranked things up and carved into the Trojan lead on 60-percent shooting in the third. USC, meanwhile, slumped to 30 percent in that frame, and it was a 67-40 margin at the end of the third. In the final stretch, USC staged a 9-0  run as Minyon Moore, Mazyck, Asiah Jones, Mariya Moore and Cheyanne Wallace contributed points to make it a 30-point USC lead. Back-to-back threes from Mariya Moore was soon followed by a successful trip to the line for Ja'Tavia Tapley, who then served up the assist on USC's final points of the day — a runner from Minyon Moore to wrap up an 86-50 Trojan victory on the road. USC finished out the game shooting 45.9 percent from the floor, knocking down seven 3-pointers and going 23-of-34 from the stripe. USC dominated the boards to the tune of a 50-24 rebounding advantage, and nabbed 10 steals. Long Beach State was paced by 12 points from Justina King and Sydney Bordonaro, and 11 from Jasmine Hardy. The 49ers shot 31.3 in the game and made eight 3-pointers while going 12-of-18 from the line.
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CULTURE SHIFTÂ
As the Women of Troy enter a new season of action, the energy and excitement generated by USC's combination of Trojan veterans and fresh faces is palpable. Along with the return of Pac-12 honorees Aliyah Mazyck and Minyon Moore, there are six Women of Troy who will be seeing their first game action in a USC jersey this year. Transfers Mariya Moore, Kayla Overbeck and Cheyanne Wallace are three of those six Women of Troy set to log their first minutes at USC. Shalexxus Aaron, meanwhile, is finally off the sidelines and in full force after sitting out the 2017-18 season with injury, and will add athleticism to the back court. The other two newbies are true freshmen. Forward Jillian Archer and guard Desiree Caldwell are USC's two true freshmen this season.Â
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SENIOR STRENGTH
USC's senior class offers a window into the new formula that head coach Mark Trakh is working with this season — a blend of players with diverse talents and diverse experience. Aliyah Mazyck is USC's record-holder for single-season 3-pointers made and is coming off a junior season where she averaged 16.5 points per game. She and fellow senior Marguerite Effa enter their fourth and final seasons at USC, standing out as the vets of the group. Seniors Mariya Moore and Cheyanne Wallace, meanwhile, bring another angle of experience to the picture. Moore was a decorated player at Louisville, then transferred to USC last season. This year will mark her first game action as a Trojan. Wallace also opted to change course to USC, coming across town from Loyola Marymount to get in the mix this season as a grad transfer.Â
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POWER AT THE POST
USC has two standout juniors lined up for duty as veterans on the post. Ja'Tavia Tapley was the sixth man last year, and her 6-3 frame and incredible athleticism will be back for more this season. Newly crowned for her junior season at USC is Vanderbilt transfer Kayla Overbeck, whose waiver to compete immediately as a Trojan was granted by the NCAA. An All-SEC honoree as a freshman, Overbeck adds yet another valuable depth charge to the post for USC this season. Forward Danijela Milisic and guard Kyerstin Galloway round out the USC roster.
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MAZYCK MAKES THE LIST
USC senior Aliyah Mazyck's notable junior season has attracted national attention, as she has been selected as one of the country's top 20 shooting guards recognized on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Preseason Watch List. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced the list today (Oct. 23). A finalist for the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year last year, Mazyck was a 2018 Pac-12 All-Defensive Team and All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention pick as a junior. That year, the Charlotte, N.C., native set a USC single-season record with 86 threes made. A full-time starter, she averaged 16.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game. Now a senior captain for the Women of Troy, Mazyck has stepped into a leadership role that will help the speedster's upward trajectory on the Pac-12 and the national radars this season.  Named after the first player, male or female, named to the All-America Team in four straight college seasons, the annual Ann Meyers Drysdale Award — in its second year — recognizes the top shooting guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball.
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MARIYA ON NAISMITH WATCH LIST
As USC senior Mariya Moore sets up for her first and final season of competition with the Women of Troy, the talented guard has earned national acclaim as one of 50 women's basketball players selected to the Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List. A transfer from Louisville last year, Moore sat out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Now active with the Women of Troy, Moore has hit double digits in both of USC's opening games, averaging 12.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game to go along with five 3-pointers landed and seven assists made in USC's 2-0 start to the season. At Louisville, Moore earned 2016 WBCA All-America Honorable Mention, was a 2016 All-ACC First Team honoree and a 2015 and 2017 All-ACC Second Team selection. The Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List was released today (Nov. 12) by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. In February, a midseason 30 list will be release, followed by 10 semifinalists for the award to be named on March 4, 2019. Four finalists will be revealed on March 22, with the winner of the 2019 Citizen Naismith Trophy for Women's Player of the Year to be announced on April 6, 2019. The last USC player to be named to a Naismith Watch List was Cassie Harberts in 2013-14. Prior to Harberts, Jacki Gemelos and Briana Gilbreath were both selected to the Naismith Early Season Watch List at the start of the 2011-12 season. In 2006-07, Shay Murphy was on the preseason watch list, and Ebony Hoffman was a preseason candidate in 2002-03. USC already boasts two Naismith Trophy winners in three-time honoree Cheryl Miller (1984, 1985, 1986) and Lisa Leslie (1994).
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CLEAR BAGS, PLEASE!
At Galen Center, the safety of our guests is of paramount importance.  With that in mind, beginning January 1, 2018, Galen Center has implemented enhanced security measures including a clear bag policy. To review the policy and to ensure you come to your next event at Galen Center fully prepared please go to: www.galencenter.org/assets/img/Clear-Bag-Policy-0b9d0e3076.jpg.  Thank you and Fight On!
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LAST SEASON
USC finished up the 2017-18 season with a 20-11 overall record in head coach Mark Trakh's return to the helm of the program. In Pac-12 play, USC finished in seventh place at 7-7 and fell in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament. Senior Kristen Simon picked up a place on the All-Pac-12 Team, while junior Aliyah Mazyck earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and was a finalist for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. She and sophomore Minyon Moore both landed on the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. Along the way, Mazyck also set a new USC record for single-season 3-pointers made with 86.
Women's Basketball Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb Media Availability 9/18/25
Thursday, September 18
USC WBB's Lindsay Gottlieb, Rayah Marshall and Talia von Oelhoffen | Trojan Press Conference
Monday, March 31
USC WBB heads to the Elite 8, defeats Kansas State in Sweet 16 | Rapid Reaction
Saturday, March 29
Kennedy Smith on USC WBB heading to the Elite Eight, Trojan freshmen getting the job done
Saturday, March 29
