USC takes on Oregon schools

After taking on Arizona and Arizona State in away games, the Women of Troy look to continue to build on their strong start in Pac-12 conference play as they return home this weekend to take on the Oregon schools.

USC (11-6, 4-1 Pac-12) will  first welcome Oregon State (10-6, 2-2) on Friday night before facing off against Oregon in a Sunday matinee.

 

The team has been on a roll lately, winning four of their last five games with their only loss during that stretch coming on the road in overtime against Arizona State.

A lot of the Women of Troy’s early success can be attributed to the emergence of the team’s ‘X factor’ in junior forward Alexyz Vaioletama, who has doubled her production from last season. After putting up a game-high 16 points against Arizona last Sunday, Vaioletama ranks as the team’s third leading scorer (9.5 ppg) and top rebounder (7.9 rpg).

They currently sit in the top tier of the conference in second place, as No. 4 Stanford, No. 15 California and unranked Washington State are tied for first with undefeated records.

First-year head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke is not letting the team get too ahead of itself though, even after it’s hot start.

“We are going to continue to take it one game at a time,” Cooper-Dyke said.

Oregon State comes into the game as a middle-of-the-pack team, while Oregon has not fared well so far, dropping it’s first four games in conference play.

Vaioletama asserts that Cooper-Dyke is the biggest reason why she and her team have been markedly improved as of late. The Women of Troy won only seven Pac-12 games last year.

“It’s a blessing to have her as a coach,” Vaioletama said. “She breaks down everything for us and makes sure we don’t overlook all of the little things.”

In their Friday tilt with the Beavers, the Women of Troy should expect a confident Oregon State team that is coming off back-to-back wins against their in-state rival Oregon, 88-80 on the road and 84-70 in Corvallis. USC has gotten the best of the Beavers in the teams’ last two meetings, defeating them in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament, 64-57, and 56-55 in the regular season.

Sophomore guard Jamie Weisner is the Beaver’s leading scorer, averaging slightly over 15 points a game through the first half of the season.

The Ducks, on the other hand, are still looking to get their first win in conference play and are looking to avenge a 4-27 overall record in 2013. They will look to get back on track against the Women of Troy, but have not defeated them since 2010.

Oregon is led by a young and talented guard, freshman Chrishae Rowe, who leads all Ducks scorers with over 22 points a game. She tandems with 6-foot-3 sophomore forward Jillian Alleyne, who is second in scoring with 21 points a game. She also brings down a team-high 14 rebounds per game, averaging a double-double.

They will have to take on Los Angeles’ other team, the UCLA Bruins, on Friday night before matching up with USC in the second game of their Southern California road trip.

As for preparing for the Oregon schools, Cooper-Dyke explained how the two schools both like to get quickly up and down the court so it’s going to be important that the Women of Troy counter their up-tempo style.

“We need to play good transition defense and try and keep the game in the half court,” Cooper-Dyke said.

This home stand marks two imperative games for the Women of Troy, as the following week they head up north to the Bay Area to take on two of the country’s top teams in Stanford and Cal.