USC, Illinois State to clash in semifinals

Common basketball knowledge says having experienced players in postseason play is necessary to making a deep run in postseason tournaments.

But although no player on USC’s roster has experienced postseason play, the Women of Troy are in the Final Four of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

USC will try to continue its string of road victories against Illinois State in Normal, Ill. tonight.

The team has shown confidence and grit in its four victories in the WNIT, winning by an average of 12.75 points.

Following a first round 67-64 triumph at home over UC Santa Barbara, USC (23-12) went on the road for its past three wins.

“I’m impressed [with our run], but it doesn’t surprise me,” USC coach Michael Cooper told USCTrojans.com. “When you play good, solid defense, defense works whether you’re home or on the road. Whether it’s been a seven-minute or a 20-minute run, we’re getting good defense at certain points in the game to give ourselves a chance to win.”

USC has held its WNIT opponents to 37.2 field goal shooting percentage and allowed less than 60 points in road victories against Nevada and BYU.

But the team hasn’t been lacking on the offensive side, either.

The Women of Troy have averaged 73.5 points in the WNIT, including 87 points in their quarterfinal win over Colorado.

“Our chemistry has really seemed to click over these past couple of weeks,” said senior guard Jacki Gemelos. “If we play how we’ve been playing, we’re pretty unstoppable at this point.”

Standing in their way will be the Redbirds (24-10), who are making their third straight appearance in the WNIT semifinals, and own a perfect 17-0 home record.

It’s the first undefeated home season in school history for Illinois State, and the team has set school records for overall home wins (17) and single-season home winning streak (17).

Illinois State is 10-1 all-time in WNIT games on its home court, including 3-0 this year.

“We’ve played in some hostile environments the past couple of weeks,” Gemelos said. “It’s really shown our true character, and shown people that we can win big games on the road.”

Defense has been the key to Illinois State’s run. The Redbirds are holding their WNIT opponents to 68.2 points per game, and 33.2 percent shooting from three-point range.

Meanwhile, USC’s offense has been shooting three-pointers at a 49-percent clip in the WNIT to contribute to its 73.5 points per game.

Despite the Redbirds’ success on defense, the Women of Troy think their offense is more than capable of handling the pressure.

“With the talent that we have, it’s not just one or two players on our team putting up points,” said senior center Kari LaPlante. “So it’s going to be a lot harder [for Illinois State] to guard us.”

Forward Emily Hanley leads Illinois State in scoring with 14.3 points per game.

Last year, the Redbirds lost to USC’s Pac-10 rival, California, in the WNIT semifinals. The Redbirds boast a wealth of experience in the WNIT, having participated in the tournament four of the last five years.

But USC won’t be intimidated in its first appearance in the WNIT Final Four.

“I don’t think [postseason experience] is really going to affect the outcome of the game,” Gemelos said. “It’s just all about knocking down the open shots.”

Cooper has confidence in his team to win their game against Illinois State, and perhaps the WNIT championship.

“[The WNIT] has been a great experience for us, and now that we’re this far, we’re looking to win the whole thing,” Cooper told USCTrojans.com. “I think our shooters are a little bit better [than Illinois State’s], and that our defense is a little bit better. So, hopefully that’ll give us an opportunity to win this game.”

The winner of the game will play either Charlotte or Toledo on Saturday for the WNIT championship. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.