Friday, November 29
Las Vegas, Nev.
5:45 PM
USC
vs
Nebraska
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Photo by: Josh Dunst/USC Athletics
USC Women Hit Vegas For South Point Shootout
November 26, 2019 | Women's Basketball, Features
Trojans will face Nebraska and Alabama at the event at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
2019 SOUTH POINT SHOOTOUT | Las Vegas, Nev.
USC (3-2) vs. Nebraska (5-1)
Friday, Nov. 29 | 5:45 p.m.
Series Record:Â USC trails 3-4
Current Streak:Â USC lost 4
Last Meeting:Â NEB 74, USC 66 (11/23/2012 ) Galen Center)
USC vs. Alabama
Saturday, Nov. 30 | 8 p.m.
Series Record:Â First Meeting
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THIS WEEKÂ
USC will celebrate Thanksgiving in Las Vegas this year, making the trip to set up camp at the South Point Hotel and Casino for action at the South Point Shootout on Nov. 29 and 30. The Trojans (3-2) are first lined up against Nebraska (5-1) for a 5:45 p.m. meeting on Friday (Nov. 29). On Saturday (Nov. 30), USC has its first-ever faceoff against Alabama at 8 p.m
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IN THE NATION
USC is unranked in the latest AP and Coaches polls.Â
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SCOUTING NEBRASKA
The Cornhuskers are 5-1 overall after beating Southern 73-39 and falling to Creighton 79-74 last week. Leigha Brown leads Nebraska in scoring with 15.3 points per game, and Nicea Eliely leads on the boards with 6.5 rebounds per game. USC is 3-4 all-time against the Huskers with losses in the last four meetings after a 74-66 when the teams last met in 2012 at Galen Center
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SCOUTING ALABAMA
The Crimson Tide is 4-1 overall after beating South Alabama 74-62 and Tulane 66-56last week. Cierra Johnson leads Alabama with 12.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two women's basketball programs.
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LAST ACTION
USC went toe-to-toe with its first ranked opponent of the season and stayed largely in stride with the high-powered No. 6 Texas A&M team last weekend at Galen Center. Two USC freshmen hit double digits along the way as the Trojans finished up with a 74-64 loss to the visiting Aggies. The lead traded hands seven times in the first half, with the Trojans up 25-20 early in the second quarter before the Aggies manufactured an 11-0 run to sneak out ahead. Kayla Overbeck snapped the run with her first bucket of the night on a nice jumper in the lane. That got it to 31-27 midway through the second, and USC would be within five at halftime as Texas A&M led it 37-32 at the break. In the second half, the Trojans got behind by as much as 14 points but never backed down. In the third, Texas A&M got a surge from a 7-0 run that Desiree Caldwell put a stop to, and Alissa Pili followed that with her first career 3-pointer as a Trojan to get USC back within double digits at 48-39 with 5:20 on the clock. With more relentless play from Pili and fellow freshman Endyia Rogers, who both hit double figures in the game, USC had the deficit down to six at 58-52 with 8:20 to go. The Aggies padded things back out to 11, and then the teams largely went bucket-for-bucket the rest of the way. USC freshman Rogers had the last word in netting a new career high for herself with her 20th points of the night to finish things out as a 74-64 final in Texas A&M's favor.Both teams came out sharp from the floor, with USC hitting at 41.9 percent while Texas A&M was even hotter at 51.5 percent. The Trojans were warmer from 3-point land in the first half, though, hitting 4-of-10 from beyond the arc while the Aggies were 2-of-7. By the final buzzer, Texas A&M had only barely dipped below 50 percent with a 49.3 recent effort from the floor to outpace USC's 44.1 percent. The Aggies won out on the board 44-26, while the turnover count was a close 14-12 with USC holding the edge there. USC also with six 3-pointers in the game to top Texas A&M's three. On the scoring front, Rogers led the Trojans with her career-high 20 points, while Pili scored 12. Caldwell score nine points and served up five assists. For Texas A&M, Chennedy Carter led all with 26 points. Kayla Wells had 16 points, and N'dea Wells hauled in 18 rebounds..
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THE "VETS"Â
Of USC's three seniors on the roster, only post Kayla Overbeck has logged minutes in Cardinal and Gold. Overbeck joined the Trojans as a transfer from Vanderbilt last season. Now, she's flanked by two other transfers — guards Stephanie Watts (from North Carolina) and Aliyah Jeune (from Morehead State) — who are playing out their remaining eligibility as Trojans. Overbeck, Shalexxus Aaron and sophomore guard Desiree Caldwell are USC's three returners from the 2018-19 season that saw the Trojans come up just shy of a postseason push with a 17-13 overall record. Â
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YOUNG GUNS
Nine new faces are on the roster for 2019-20. In addition to grad transfers Aliyah Jeune and Stephanie Watts, USC has seven true freshmen in the mix — all wildly talented and all ready to hit the floor for their first minutes as Women of Troy. They include two state Gatorade Players of the Year in forward Alissa Pili (Alaska) and guard Endyia Rogers (Texas), as well as McDonald's All-American center Angel Jackson. Watts, too, was a McDonald's All-American coming out of high school in North Carolina before signing on with the Tar Heels. A bevy of talented freshmen guards are also locked in, with Madison Campbell, Alyson Miura, India Otto and Kyra White bringing extra punch to the USC backcourt as true freshmen.Â
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STEPH SCORES A WATCH LIST SPOT
As she sets up for her first season as a Trojan, grad transfer Stephanie Watts has earned a place on the Preseason Watch List for the prestigious Ann Meyers Drysdale Award. Watts is one of 20 candidates on the Preseason Watch List, as announced Oct. 22 by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Watts joins the Women of Troy this season as a grad transfer from North Carolina, where she was the 2016 ACC Freshman of the Year and later led the team in 3-pointers made as a redshirt junior last season. In her three seasons as a Tar Heel, she scored 1,320 points. In her final season, she averaged 15.2 point, 5.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while knocking down 82 threes. 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 third year — recognizes the top shooting guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball.
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PREP STARS
Several Women of Troy had especially decorated high school careers. Two were McDonald's All-Americans — Angel Jackson and Stephanie Watts — with Jackson also earning Jordan Brand honors, and Watts as an Naismith High School All-American honoree. Two Trojans also were their state Player of the Year — Alissa Pili (Alaska) and Endyia Rogers (Texas).
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LAST SEASONÂ
USC finished up the 2018-19 season with a 17-13 overall record after going 7-11 in Pac-12 play and with a loss in the Pac-12 Tournament first round. Seniors Aliyah Mazyck and Mariya Moore and junior Minyon Moore earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, with Mazyck and Minyon Moore both also landing on the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. •
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USC WBB's Lindsay Gottlieb, Rayah Marshall and Talia von Oelhoffen | Trojan Press Conference
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USC WBB heads to the Elite 8, defeats Kansas State in Sweet 16 | Rapid Reaction
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