Friday, February 14
Los Angeles, Calif.
7:00 PM
USC
vs
Oregon State
Players Mentioned
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Photo by: Percy Anderson
USC Women Continue Gauntlet At Galen With No. 11 OSU And No. 3 Oregon
February 11, 2020 | Women's Basketball, Features
Trojans take on another set of ranked foes this week, hosting the Beavers on Friday night and Ducks on Sunday afternoon.
USC (12-11, 4-8) vs. #11 Oregon St. (19-5, 7-5)
Galen Center | Los Angeles, Calif.
Friday, Feb. 14 | 7 p.m.
Series Record: USC leads 43-29
Home: 25-10 | Away: 16-17 | Neutral: 2-2
Last Meeting: W, 68-61 (Feb. 22, 2019 • Corvallis)
Current Streak: OSU won 3
TV: Pac-12 Los Angeles
USC (12-11, 4-8) vs. #3 Oregon (22-2, 11-1)
Galen Center | Los Angeles, Calif.
Sunday, Feb. 16 | 1 p.m.Â
Series Record: USC leads 45-25
Home: 25-10 | Away: 19-15 | Neutral: 1-0
Last Meeting: L, 96-78 (Feb. 24, 2019 • Eugene)
Current Streak: Oregon won 7
TV: Pac-12N/LA/OR
THIS WEEKÂ
USC's intense stretch of Pac-12 play continues with two more ranked foes on the docket this week. The Trojans are in the midst of a gauntlet of five ranked opponents in a six-game span, but they'll finish this run on home turf. USC (12-11, 4-8 Pac-12) is back at Galen Center to host No. 11 Oregon State (19-5, 7-5) at 7 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 14) before turning to face No. 3 Oregon (22-2, 11-1) at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Feb. 16).
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IN THE NATION
USC is unranked in the latest AP and Coaches polls.Â
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SCOUTING OSU
The No. 11 Beavers are 19-5 overall and 7-5 in Pac-12 play after beating Arizona State 64-62 and losing to Arizona 65-58 in overtime last week. Destiny Slocum leads OSU in scoring with 14.6 points per game, and Mikayla Pivec leads on the boards with 9.7 rebounds per game. In a series dating back to the 1976-77 season, USC is 43-29 all-time against the Beavers with losses in the last three meetings. USC's last win was a 65-61 victory at Galen Center in 2018. Last season, USC lost to the Beavers 76-52 at Galen Center and fell 68-61 in Corvallis.
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SCOUTING OREGON
The No. 3 Ducks are 22-2 overall and 11-1 in Pac-12 play after beating Arizona 85-52 and Arizona State 79-48 last week. Sabrina Ionescu leads Oregon in scoring with 17.3 points per game, and Ruthy Hebard leads on the boards with 9.3 rebounds per game. In a series dating back to the 1980-81 season, USC is 45-25 all-time against the Ducks with losses in the last seven meetings. USC's last win was a 75-67 victory at Galen Center in 2016. Last season, USC lost to the Ducks 93-53 at Galen Center and fell 96-78 in Eugene.
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INJURY REPORT
Shalexxus Aaron (foot) and Madison Campbell (back) have not yet competed for USC this season due to injuries. Stephanie Watts (knee) has missed recent games, and her return is uncertain.
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LAST ACTION
USC wound up with a road split in the Bay Area last week, beating Cal and falling at Stanford. First, the Trojans buckled down in Berkeley, pushing past host California in the second half and fending off the hosts' attempts to claw back as local product Angel Jackson drummed up a career-high 19 points for the Trojans in a 75-67 road victory. The win bumps USC to 12-10 overall and to 4-7 in Pac-12 play, while Cal goes to 9-13, 1-10. The Trojans trailed by seven after a string of Cal free throws fell during the second quarter, but USC was able to reel the Bears back in thanks in part to seven points scored in the frame by local product Angel Jackson. By halftime, it was a one-point game, with Cal on top after hitting four 3-pointers and shooting 43.5 percent from the floor. That edged out USC's two threes and 40.7 percent effort from the floor. In the third, USC made its move with a run that planted the Trojans in the lead to stay as they pressed on to outscore the Bears 55-36 in the second half. USC wrapped the game shooting 47.4 percent overall, while Cal cooled to 41.5. USC won out on the boards 34-32, while Cal knocked down nine 3-pointers to five by the Trojans. USC had four Trojans hit double digits, led by Angel Jackson's 19. Aliyah Jeune was just a step behind with 18 points, while Alissa Pili had 17 for her 16th game in double digits and 10 from Endyia Rogers. Two days later, USC came up against a determined No. 6 Stanford squad and saw the Cardinal land 10 first-half 3-pointers to build out an insurmountable lead over the visiting Trojans. USC outscored its host in the second half, but couldn't reel in the Cardinal in taking a 79-59 loss on Sunday afternoon at Maples Pavilion. USC wrapped the game shooting 27.7 percent from the floor to trail Stanford's 42.1 percent. By the final buzzer 11 Stanford threes had fallen, while USC hit six. Alissa Pili punched up her eighth straight game in double digits in scoring a team-high 12 points, with Aliyah Jeune adding 11 for the Trojans.Â
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BEATING THE BRUINS
USC was down by six in double overtime and fought back to upset No. 7 UCLA 70-68 on Jan. 17 at Galen Center, handing the Bruins their first loss of the season to take out the only remaining undefeated team in the nation. Aliyah Jeune was the driving force for the Trojans in this one, hitting six 3-pointers and finishing with 27 points to go along with a 13 rebounds. But it was freshman Alissa Pili who calmly converted a three-point play with 28 seconds left that lifted USC to the winning margin, and USC fended off its crosstown rival in the final stretch to earn the victory. USC trailed by six out of the gates but eked out a slim lead, fighting through seven lead changes in the first 10 minutes. During that time, though, UCLA went cold, landing a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:10 on the clock and then stalling out. Only free throws fell for the Bruins for the rest of the half — two in the first quarter and only two in the second while the Trojans crafted a 30-17 halftime lead with a 12-0 rally to top it off. USC would wrap the first half shooting 39.4 percent from the floor to UCLA's 18.2 percent. USC also had the edge on the boards 25-21 by the break. Madness ensued as the rivals went toe-to-toe through double overtime for the first time in the programs' history. At the close of regulation, UCLA had warmed up to 26.8 percent from the floor while USC was at 37.5. By the final buzzer of the second overtime, a victorious USC had shot 39.1 percent overall to UCLA's 29.9 percent. Both teams hit eight 3-pointers — and made eight free throws — in the game, while USC won out on the boards 57-47. The Trojans saw Aliyah Jeune match her USC best of 27 points while notching her first double-double as a Trojan with her career-high 13 rebounds. Alissa Pili secured her sixth double-double with her 19 points and 17 rebounds, and Desiree Caldwell joined her teammates in double figures with 10 points on the night, while Kayla Overbeck hauled in 10 rebounds for the Trojan cause. In all, USC and UCLA fought through 15 lead changes before the Trojans edged ahead to stay.Â
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PILI DOUBLES UP ON PAC-12 PICKS
After providing the game-winning basket with 29 seconds left in double overtime to upset undefeated rival UCLA, freshman forward Alissa Pili earned her first honors as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Jan. 20. Pili punched up 19 points and hauled in a career-high 17 rebounds in the 70-68 victory over the No. 7 Bruins. Pili's heroic three-point play in the final stretch of double overtime was the difference in USC's win, which was the Trojans' first over a top-10 opponent since 2017. The victory also snapped a five-game losing skid for USC, while also putting a stop to UCLA's claim as the only undefeated team in the nation. With her 19 points and 17 rebounds, Pili recorded her sixth double-double of the year along with her 11th game scoring in double figures. In the second 5-minute overtime alone, Pili had six points and four rebounds to help anchor USC's comeback from a six-point deficit to victory. Pili was the first Pac-12 honoree from USC this season. The last Trojan to be named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week had been Shalexxus Aaron on Feb. 5, 2019. Two weeks later, the do-it-all forward ran her double-digit streak out to six games and kept USC's Pac-12 Freshman of the Week win streak alive in capturing her second selection for the weekly honor from the conference. With teammate Endyia Rogers' win the week prior, this is the first time in program history that USC has had multiple Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honorees in a single season. On this latest stretch of Pac-12 play, Pili scored 18 points in a triple-OT loss at No. 19 ASU and served up 21 in a loss at No. 16 Arizona. She scored the first 10 points for USC against the Wildcats en route to her team-best 15th double-digit outing. Pili leads USC 18.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game to date
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ROGERS TO THE RESCUE
Endyia Rogers set new career highs in back-to-back USC victories and earned herself a pick as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Jan. 27, making it back-to-back weeks with a Trojan on that honor roll after Alissa Pili's award on Jan. 20. Rogers upped her previous career-high with a 21-point outing in a win over Washington State before going even bigger with 29 points — the most by a USC player this season — in an overtime victory over Washington. Rogers also added a career-high nine assists versus the Huskies, and poured out 24 points in the last 25 minutes of the game. Two of those points came from the free-throw line with eight seconds remaining in overtime as the freshman secured victory for her team. She had also scored the game-tying bucket to force overtime six minutes earlier. In her weekend's work, Rogers had back-to-back 20-point games for the first time in her collegiate career. Rogers is the fifth Trojan all-time to be named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.
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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. She's flanked on the roster this season by two other transfers — guards Stephanie Watts (from North Carolina) and Aliyah Jeune (from Morehead State) — who have chosen to play 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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THE NEW CLASS
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, with two of those young guns standing out as USC's top scorers to date. Freshman forward Alissa Pili leads USC with 14.4 points and 8.0 rebounds points per game so far, while guard Endyia Rogers  is just a step behind, averaging 12.7 points per game. Pili leads with 17 double-digit games to date and also already has hauled in eight double-doubles as a Trojan. Rogers is next with 15 double-digit efforts. They have fellow freshman Angel Jackson also making an impact in the paint with 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while the rest of the freshman class makes for a talented back court in guards Madison Campbell, Alyson Miura, India Otto and Kyra White.Â
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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. Three Trojans also were their state Player of the Year — Watts (North Carolina),  Alissa Pili (Alaska — a three-time honoree) and Endyia Rogers (Texas).
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STEPH SCORES A WATCH LIST SPOT
As she set up for her first season as a Trojan, grad transfer Stephanie Watts 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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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.Â
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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! •
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
