Friday, November 23
Reno, NV
4:30 PM
USC
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Utah State
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Photo by: Katie Chin
USC Women Roll Up To Reno Looking For More Wins At Nugget Classic
November 20, 2018 | Women's Basketball, Features
Women of Troy face Utah State on Friday and take on host Nevada on Sunday in Reno.
2018 NUGGET CLASSIC
USC (4-0) vs. Utah State (2-1)
Lawlor Events Center | Reno, Nev.
Friday, Nov. 23 | 4:30 p.m.
Series Record: USC leads 2-0
Last Meeting: W, 115-45 (Feb. 28, 1986 • Anchorage)
Current Streak: USC won 2
STREAM | STATSÂ
USC at Nevada
Lawlor Events Center | Reno, Nev.
Sunday, Nov. 25 | 2 p.m.
Series Record: USC leads 2-0
Last Meeting: W, 78-59 (March 20, 2011 • Reno)
Current Streak: USC won 2
STREAM | STATSÂ
USC (4-0) vs. Utah State (2-1)
Lawlor Events Center | Reno, Nev.
Friday, Nov. 23 | 4:30 p.m.
Series Record: USC leads 2-0
Last Meeting: W, 115-45 (Feb. 28, 1986 • Anchorage)
Current Streak: USC won 2
STREAM | STATSÂ
USC at Nevada
Lawlor Events Center | Reno, Nev.
Sunday, Nov. 25 | 2 p.m.
Series Record: USC leads 2-0
Last Meeting: W, 78-59 (March 20, 2011 • Reno)
Current Streak: USC won 2
STREAM | STATSÂ
THIS WEEKÂ
USC heads out of state this week looking to add a couple road wins to its perfect 4-0 start to the 2018-19 season. The Women of Troy open up action at the Nugget Classic in Reno, Nev., with a Friday (Nov. 23) clash against Utah State (Nov. 25) at 5 p.m. On Sunday, USC takes on host Nevada in a 2 p.m. matchup.
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IN THE NATION
USC is receiving votes in the latest AP and USA Today Coaches polls.Â
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LAST WEEK
USC muscled its way to a 4-0 start with two more decisive victories. On Thursday, USC posted its largest margin of victory of the season, topping visiting UC Santa Barbara with a hearty 82-39 Trojan victory at Galen Center. For the first time in these early goings of the campaign, four Women of Troy hit double figures to help USC along to the sizable win and a 3-0 start. USC hit at a 47.5 percent clip in the game, landing eight 3-pointers and outrebounding the Gauchos 41-26. The Trojans also nabbed 13 steals in an interruptive effort that helped generate 28 points off turnovers. UC Santa Barbara shot 24 percent from the floor tonight. The USC offense was led by Aliyah Mazyck's 21 points, followed closely by Minyon Moore's 18. Ja'Tavia Tapley hit double digits for the first time this season with 13 points, and Mariya Moore added 11. No Gauchos got to double figures in tonight's tilt, with Briana Anugwom and Coco Miller leading UCSB on offense with eight and seven points, respectively. On Sunday, USC put forth another dominant effort, soaring to a 77-46 win over visiting Santa Clara. Ten Trojans scored in the win, with redshirt freshman Shalexxus Aaron going big with 20 points on 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point land. USC shot over 50 percent from the floor for the first time this season, and forced 22 turnovers out of the Broncos. Interruptive defense was the name of the game again, with seven Trojans nabbing steals. Distribution also was smooth for USC, as the Trojans dished out 21 assists, led by six from Minyon Moore and five from Aliyah Mazyck. They would join Aaron in double digits on the day, with Mazyck scoring 14 points and Moore with 11 to go along with the hot-shooting Aaron's game-high 20. Santa Clara was held to 33 percent shooting from the floor, but was a warmer 35 percent from 3-point range at 7-of-20. USC landed nine threes, however, also on 20 attempts from beyond the arc. Santa Clara was led by Emily Wolph with 16 points and Tia Hay with 12.
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SCOUTING UTAH STATE
The Aggies opened the season 2-1 overall and comes off an 88-58 loss to Oregon last week. Hailey Bassett-Meacham leads Utah State in scoring with 15.7 points per game, and Shannon Dufficy leads on the boards with 9.7 rebounds per game. In a series dating back to 1977, USC is 2-0 all-time against Utah State. USC beat the Aggies 115-45 when the teams last met in 1986 Northern Lights Invitational in Anchorage, Alaska.
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SCOUTING NEVADA
The Wolfpack opened the season 1-2 overall after beating Long Beach State 76-67 last week. Jade Redmon leads Nevada in scoring with 13.7 points per game, and Terae Briggs leads on the boards with 12.0 rebounds per game. In a series dating back to 2001, USC is 2-0 all-time against Nevada. USC beat Nevada 78-59 when the teams met in the second round of the 2011 WNIT Tournament in Reno.
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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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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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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
