Women’s basketball keeps strong start

The women’s basketball team continued its undefeated season with big wins over UC Santa Barbara, 82-39, on Thursday and Santa Clara, 77-46, Saturday.

After a slow start on the road at Santa Barbara, the Women of Troy blew the game open in the second quarter, scoring 30 points to the Gauchos’ 13 and leading by 23 points at the half.

The Trojans defense secured the win in the second half by only giving up 3 points in the third quarter.

On a huge offensive night for USC, senior guard Aliyah Mazyck led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting, with junior guard Minyon Moore adding 18 points.

The Women of Troy improved to 4-0 while hosting Santa Clara Saturday, in a dominant 77-46 victory.

Redshirt freshman guard  Shalexxus Aaron led all scorers with 20 points, going 7-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from the 3-point line. Aaron credited her big shooting night to her teammates.

“Once I hit a 3, I’m just feeding off their energy,” Aaron said. “It’s not just me, my teammates strive and get me the bucket. They’re giving me that pass and giving me that opportunity to knock down a 3.”

Mazyck was second in scoring with 14 points in only 21 minutes of action. She left the game in the third quarter with an apparent lower-leg injury, where she was fouled after hitting her first 3-pointer of the night. She left on crutches and did not return. Mazyck finished 6-of-10 from the field with five rebounds and five assists.

Junior starting center Kayla Overbeck also left the game after a leg injury in the second quarter. Ja’Tavia Tapley, Cheyanne Wallace and Asiah Jones stepped in for Overbeck to provide an interior presence for the Trojans. Jones had 8 points, one block and three rebounds in 12 minutes of play. To step in for Overbeck, Jones emphasized preparation.

“Coach just always tells me to be ready before anything,” Jones said. “So I just took the opportunity and I had to do what was best for the team.”

The Trojans got off to a hot start in the first quarter behind efficient 3-point shooting. Aaron, Minyon Moore and Mariya Moore all scored from beyond-the-arc in the first quarter.

On the defensive side of the ball, USC’s intensity led to 11 first-half turnovers, and 22 overall. Wallace had a game-high three steals, along with five other Trojans who had at least one steal in the contest.

Head coach Mark Trakh praised associate head coach and defensive coach Jason Glover.

“We just get after it defensively,” Trakh said. “We were very good tonight.”

Aaron echoed Trakh’s sentiments.

“[We] take it one possession at a time,” Aaron said. “Minyon takes a charge, and then we feed off of that energy. We get a 30-second [shot clock violation], and we feed off of that energy.”

The Women of Troy started the second half with an 11-0 run and didn’t look back.

“I just thought we played well,” Trakh said. “We did a good job defensively, a good job offensively and got some contributions as well.”

Aaron finished the night with a 4-point play with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, giving the Trojans their biggest lead of the night with 31 points. The game ended 77-46 as they shot 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from the 3-point line.

Guard Emily Wolph led the Broncos in scoring with 16 points in over 18 minutes.

USC heads to Reno, Nevada on Friday to compete in the Nugget Classic against Nevada and Utah State. Its next home game is Nov. 28 at 5 p.m. against Fresno State.