USC women’s basketball takes on Washington schools at Galen Center

With only four games left in conference play, the women’s basketball team looks to add two more victories in its last home games of the season. After last week’s upset over the previously No. 9 Oregon State, the Trojans are ready to head into this week and take on the challenge of Washington State on Friday at 6 p.m. and No. 9 Washington on Sunday at 3 p.m.

“Getting a win over Oregon State was really big for us,” senior guard Courtney Jaco said. “Not only are they top 10 in the country, but they are tied for first in the conference, so that was a really big confidence booster for us. I think we are heading into this weekend with a lot of positive thoughts. We think we can compete with anybody with that win.”

In addition to their confidence, USC will also have the home court advantage this time around. After losing to both Washington State and Washington on the road, they not only want to protect their home court, but also fix their mistakes from the last games and come away with two big wins. Home game or not, the games will be tough for the Trojans, but their focus and determination is the same it has been every game prior.

“We think that we can beat Washington State,” Jaco said. “Playing them here should give us a little more confidence in front of our home crowd, our fans, our friends and family. I think our approach should be the same in that they are a good team, and we have to take it seriously and come out with our best effort.”

Both teams are strong offensively, especially Washington, and have been putting up big final scores against their opponents. This not only calls on USC to have the defense to contain them, but also for their offense to be able to score and force the other teams to scramble to catch up. The Trojans are looking to shut down their opponents’ strongest areas, while playing their game to the best of their ability.

“For Washington State, stopping their transition [is key],” Jaco said. “They really get out and run hard, so that definitely has to be a focus. For Washington, Kelsey Plum and Chantel Osahor are both two of the best players in the country right now. We have to find a way to limit them as much as we can and hopefully we get the score a little further down because they put it up.”

Before the battle with Washington commences on Sunday, USC will be honoring its four seniors, three of whom ( Jaco, Alexis Lloyd and Jordan Adams) were on the Trojans’ first team to win a Pac-12 Championship in 2014. Besides Adams, who hopes she will be given another year of eligibility after being sidelined with a season-ending ACL injury in preseason, the other members of the team are looking forward to their future beyond USC

“I haven’t really gotten too emotional about it yet, or tried not to at least,” Jaco said. “But these four years have quickly flown by. I am just excited and ready to celebrate it with my teammates and I think it will be a lot of fun.”