Women of Troy trounced by Cardinal

In a battle of the conference’s top two teams, the Women of Troy could not overcome an ice-cold shooting game on the road against No. 4 Stanford and dropped their second game in Pac-12 play by double digits, 86-59.

Blown out · Senior forward Cassie Harberts’ 17 points weren’t nearly enough for the Women of Troy to overcome fourth-ranked Stanford. The Cardinal’s Chiney Ogwumike scored 30 points in the 27-point win. – Ralf Cheung | Daily Trojan

The loss breaks the team’s four-game wining streak and ties them for second in the conference with No. 15 Arizona and No. 21 Cal.

USC (14-7, 7-2 Pac-12) struggled to put the ball in the basket throughout the game, shooting just a little over 37 percent from the field and 13 percent from behind the three-point line.

The Women of Troy played the Cardinal close until about 10 minutes into the first half, where they went scoreless for about seven minutes. USC missed 11 straight shots in that stretch, and Stanford went on a 14-0 run to open up a 37-20 lead with 4:40 remaining. This would build to a 46-28 Stanford lead at the half.

“We didn’t make our shots when we needed to, but we got outplayed by them on both ends of the floor,” USC head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke said.

Junior guard Ariya Crook led all Women of Troy scorers with 18 points on five of 13 shooting.

Senior forward Cassie Harberts would achieve yet another milestone in her already impressive career, as she became USC’s No. 8 all-time leading scorer. She finished the game with 17 points and 6 rebounds.

USC’s struggles from the outside allowed Stanford forward and National Player of the Year candidate Chiney Ogwumike to take control of the paint and limit the Women of Troy’s ability to drive to the basket.

Ogwumike posed a problem all night for the Women of Troy, not only on defense, but also on offense, racking up a double-double with 30 points and 12 rebounds.

“She’s an excellent player,” Cooper-Dyke said. “She played a great game on both sides of the ball and made it very difficult for us on offense when she would clog the paint and double Cassie.”

The Cardinal’s (19-1, 8-0) hot shooting countered USC’s lackluster offense, as they shot nearly 51 percent for the game. The team also made seven of their 20 attempted three-pointers.

Four of Stanford’s starting five scored in double figures, in scoring in addition to one player off the bench. Lili Thompson and Amber Orrange added 12 points apiece for the Cardinal, while Mikaela Ruef dropped in 11.

“Stanford is one of the best teams in the nation and they played like it,” Cooper-Dyke said. “When you play a top team like Stanford, you gotta bring your A-game with the right level of intensity and confidence.”

Last night’s loss marks the 13th consecutive time that USC has fallen to Stanford.

The team shouldn’t hang its head too low following this tough loss, as they leave the Bay Area with a split of two conference games against ranked opponents.

USC took down Cal, ranked No. 16 at the time, 77-70, last Friday, a win that was heavily due to a career-high 34 points by Crook — the most points scored by a Trojan since 2002.

USC will return home to the Galen Center this weekend to challenge the Washington schools. The Women of Troy will take on Washington State on Friday night before facing off against Washington in a Sunday matinee.