Women’s basketball sweeps road trip

After a month of home games, the USC women’s basketball team traveled to Colorado and Utah to gain two more Pac-12 wins. The teams’ record improved to 11-5 overall and 3-2 in conference.

The Women of Troy did not lose the lead in either game. Their opponents, however, found ways to close the point deficits forcing the team to address and correct their game plan.

“Road wins are always big,” said coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke. “Going to someone’s home court in a difficult game, when you’re not at your best [and] you still come out with a win, it makes it a bigger victory.”

On Friday night, USC stormed through Colorado with an 81-61 victory. Freshman guard McKenzie Calvert and senior forward Alexyz Vaioletama shot the lights out of Coors Events Center by scoring 20 points each. Sophomore guard Brianna Barrett also contributed a generous 17 points and went on to be the only Trojan to score double digits at both games.

USC wrangled in the Buffaloes during the first half. Though USC was shooting at 43 percent and Colorado at 42 percent, turnovers and a pair of three-point shots were the catalysts to success for the Trojans.

Defensive stops and reliable offense gave the team the early lead within the first five minutes of the game. They then held the Buffs to over two scoreless minutes, giving the Trojans an opportunity to extend their lead.

Freshman guard Courtney Jaco was the first to shoot from behind the arc. Less than four minutes later, sophomore guard Brianna Barrett dropped another three-pointer and the Women of Troy soared beyond the Buffs with a 40-27 lead by the end of the half.

“We had intensity and the energy coming out of the game,” Vaioletama said. “There was a couple of times where we were on the run and got to the free-throw line.”

In the second half, the Buffs returned with an offensive stampede and scored 20 points within the first eight minutes, while the Women of Troy added just 16 points.

“We had to pick up our defense,” Barrett said. “We had a mini slow start but we picked up again with our energy.”

USC frequented the free-throw line as the second half continued. Barrett made 10 out of 13 free throws, leading the Women of Troy to a crushing win over Colorado.

Continuing the road trip, USC won a 46-43 game against Utah this past Sunday. The Women of Troy were unable to land a single three-point shot. However, free throws saved the team in the end as they scored 12 out of 16 points at the key. Barrett had the highest score for USC in the game with 13 points. Utah forward Taryn Wicijowski and guard Paige Crozon scored 14 points each.

Both teams scored at a sluggish pace with USC shooting at 36.7 percent and Utah trailing in field goals at 31.8 percent. Halfway through the first quarter, the game was tied at 11 points. After a three-point play by junior forward Kaneisha Horn and a score from Barrett, the Trojans had a five-point lead. Sophomore guard Jordan Adams seized a bucket and sparked an argument from the Utah sideline that resulted in a technical foul for the Utes and with that, USC was up 26-17 at halftime.

The Trojan experienced a rough second half when after scoring early, the team went scoreless for six minutes. Freshman forward Kristen Simon ended the drought with 9:30 left in regulation, but the Utes kept the game close.

Cooper-Dyke said the Utes were very physical, making the game tough for the Trojans.

“Utah did a very good job with getting us out of our game plan,” Cooper-Dyke said. “We had to call a lot of different offensive sets and a lot of different plays to stimulate some offense.”

After securing a five-point lead, the Women of Troy then suffered another offensive drought and the Utes took advantage of the opportunity. With only 14.5 seconds left, Utah was down by 1. After Simon sealed the game with two free throws, Utah was not able to fill the gap and fell to the Trojans 46-43.

As the result of a successful road trip, Calvert was named  Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Jan. 5.

“It all came from my team and feeding off of them,” she said. “It was a blessing.”

Looking forward, USC welcomes freshman transfer Sadie Edwards from UConn. Edwards played six games with the Huskies averaging 4.8 minutes per game. In high school, she was named Newark Star Ledger Prep Player of the Year.

“She was a big part of two high school state championships,” Cooper-Dyke said. “She’ll be practicing and training with us immediately, and we can’t wait to have her.”