Women of Troy drop two home games over weekend


After splitting the first two games in their four-game homestand, the USC women’s basketball team had an opportunity to move up in the Pac-12 standings with matchups against the Utah Utes and No. 22 Colorado Buffaloes. But once again, the Trojan’s play in the second half was the story of the weekend, as they were defeated in both matchups after leading at halftime.

Shooting struggles · Sophomore guard Ariya Crook finished 4-15 from the field against the No. 22 Colorado Buffaloes on Sunday. The Women of Troy were just 14-51 (27.5 percent) for the game overall. - Ralf Cheung | Daily Trojan

Shooting struggles · Sophomore guard Ariya Crook finished 4-15 from the field against the No. 22 Colorado Buffaloes on Sunday. The Women of Troy were just 14-51 (27.5 percent) for the game overall. – Ralf Cheung | Daily Trojan

The Utes stumbled into the Galen Center, having lost eight of their last nine contests. They did not, however, show it against the Trojans; right off the bat, some clutch 3-point shooting had the Utes keeping pace. USC was still able to maintain a solid lead in the first half, leading 30-27. But the Women of Troy were unable to hold off Utah in the second half. The Utes shot 57 percent from the field and tacked on 13 points from the foul line to sink USC. Despite 19 points from forward Cassie Harberts, USC fell 63-60.

Colorado, too, was suffering from recent struggles before facing USC, with only a 4-5 conference record despite a top-25 ranking. Off the bat, Colorado made the Women of Troy work by dominating the boards and shooting well from the field. However, the Women of Troy were able to keep pace, taking advantage of some clutch 3-point shooting from junior forward Desiree Bradley. As a result, the Trojans entered the locker room at the half with a 31-26 lead.

For the second time this weekend, though, USC came out flat for the second half and Colorado was able to capitalize. Though USC’s defense held off the Buffalo attack at first, the ineffectiveness of the offense at the other end of the court spelled doom. Colorado opened the half on a 15-2 run and did not look back from there.

Buffalo guards Chucky Jeffery and Arielle Roberson led the attack with their sound shooting. They combined for 31 points in the game as well as 16 rebounds.  Even with Harberts’ 14 points and six rebounds, USC could not overcome the deficit and lost by a decisive score of 65-49.

“They got into the paint a lot more than we did,” Harberts said. “We knew coming into this game that Chucky Jeffery and Brittany Wilson are big rebounders for guards and we didn’t execute well.”

In addition to rebounding, the large number of turnovers hurt the Trojans. Colorado jumped all over the poor passing of the Trojans, scoring 19 points off turnovers.

“It’s very frustrating,” Bradley said. “We want to win at home and we want to show our fans that we’re playing for them as well as for ourselves. It’s just something that we have to do better.”

The Women of Troy head north for their next two games, with important matchups against Washington State and Washington.

1 reply
  1. Steve B.
    Steve B. says:

    The team and coaches are just plain lousy. Need a new staff and some high quality recruits. Something is
    wrong when too many players are injured before and during the season. Attendance is a joke while Haden sits
    by analyzing the situation which is obvious to the few fans who give a darn.

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