Defense leads Women of Troy in rivalry

The Women of Troy endured a furious rally at the end of the first half to win a game that was not decided until the final seconds of regulation.

Block party · Freshman guard Ariya Cook looks to avoid a block by the Bruin’s Rebekah Gardner. Both teams shot under 30 percent for the game and played superb defense during the contest. The Trojans did not score a basket in the last four minutes. - Luciano Nunez| Daily Trojan

Senior guard Ashley Corral was not phased by the immense pressure. She coolly slipped the ball to Cassie Harberts for a layup in the closing minutes of the first half. That assist, the 414th of her career (she finished at 418), simultaneously tied her with USC legend Cheryl Miller in the record books for sixth in the school’s history and solidified USC’s position enough to take a lead into halftime in their 47-43 win.

Once the second half came, the frontcourt and rebounding, along with the aggressive USC defense, took over and propelled USC to a gritty victory over their crosstown rivals.

With a near triple-double of 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Corral savored the victory.

“On the road, they’re one more step to our season … It’s a rivalry game, so everything’s going to be wild, it’s going to be energy that wins the game. I thought we executed a little bit better than they did and that’s what got us the win,” Corral said after the game. The Bruins had beaten the Women of Troy in their previous four encounters.

Corral tallied those eight record-list-climbing assists against only one turnover. Her superb ball handling was especially impressive in this low scoring affair.

There was intense defense on both sides as USC shot 29 percent and the Bruins shot 30 percent. Overall, the game was marked by sloppy play and scrappy defense.

The Women of Troy managed to out-rebound the Bruins 48-40. Harberts and freshman forward Alexyz Vaioletama both contributed 10 rebounds while Corral and junior forward Christina Marinacci contributed eight and seven.

The team’s defense throughout the season is the main reason USC is now 9-6. The defensive effort Saturday held the Bruins to only 18 second-half points.

The USC offense never really got into a rhythm in the second half and it struggled to build a lead on the foundation of their rock-solid defense. Its biggest second-half lead was 43-38 with four minutes remaining, showing how close the game remained despite the defensive success. By the end of the game Corral was the only one who managed to break double digits for the Women of Troy with 10 points.

The Bruins cut USC’s lead to 44-43 with 23 seconds left, and the game was tense down the stretch. But Harberts coolly drained three crunch-time free throws to seal the win for the Women of Troy.

Corral explained the team’s defensive strategy after the game.

“We’ve been focusing on our defense week in and week out … We wanted to focus on keeping the ball out of their stars’ hands, and I thought we did a very good job of executing,” Corral said.

The team hopes to continue its good run of play this week when they host Oregon on Thursday and Oregon State on Saturday at the Galen Center. If its defense keeps playing like it did against the Bruins, their odds of continuing their winning streak are pretty good.