Women of Troy beat Pepperdine for first win of the season


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The USC women’s basketball team bounced back from a slow start against Gonzaga last week, beating Pepperdine 65-56 at the Galen Center on Sunday.

The Women of Troy (1-1) were led by Cassie Harberts (24 points, 10-13 FT, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Ariya Crook (17 points, 3 assists). Harberts earned her second double-double in as many games.

“It was a well played game,” said USC coach Michael Cooper, “I liked our energy. That was the big key for us. We did an excellent job in shutting this team down in their three-point attempts.”

Robbie Mayberry led the Waves (1-2) with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals, while Shey Cooney-Williams finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

USC led 27-24 at the half while working around some mistakes. The Women of Troy shot 10-24 (41.7 percent) from the field, but committed 15 turnovers and 10 fouls, while Pepperdine committed 10 turnovers and 11 fouls. The Women of Troy would finish with 24 turnovers and 19 fouls, while out-rebounding Pepperdine 44-29.

“They did much better. They got their first game out of the way as a freshman,” said Harberts about the USC newcomers. “They played a great team. They came out and did a lot better job tonight. They still got 24 turnovers but that was myself included so you can’t put it all on the young players.”

The Women of Troy will face Arkansas State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT and Nebraska on Friday at 2 p.m., with both games at the Galen Center. Friday’s game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.