USC returns to form against Oregon

In a game marked by scoring bursts, the USC women’s basketball team had the biggest — and last — run.

Deadlocked at 53-53 midway through the second half, the Women of Troy (15-8, 7-5) scored 19 straight points to secure an 85-63 victory over Oregon. The win gave USC a season sweep of the Oregon schools and moved the team back into sole possession of third place in the Pac-10.

Dual threat · Junior guard Briana Gilbreath not only recorded 14 points on Saturday against Oregon, but also finished with 10 rebounds. - Kelvin Kuo | Daily Trojan

In a back-and-forth first half, the Women of Troy countered an 11-0 run by Oregon with a 7-0 run of their own. USC took a 38-35 lead into the break before turning in another dominant second half.

Picking up where they left off against Oregon State, the Women of Troy shot 45 percent for the game, including a torrid 51 percent in the second half. USC held Oregon to 33 percent shooting in the second half and outscored the Ducks 47-28 in the second half.

Once again, the difference for the Women of Troy came on the backboards.  USC outrebounded the Ducks 53-34 for the game. During their 19-0 burst, the Women of Troy outrebounded Oregon 13-4.

Four players scored in double-digits for the Women of Troy, led by redshirt senior guard Jacki Gemelos’ 18 points. Junior guard Ashley Corral, already the career leader in three-pointers, added four more threes on the night and finished with 16 points. Freshman forward Cassie Harberts added 15 points, and junior guard Briana Gilbreath picked up another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Gemelos, Corral and Gilbreath all handed out five assists on the night. As a team, the Women of Troy collected 21 assists.

Three players scored at least 15 points for the Ducks, although USC held the rest of the team in check.  No other Oregon player scored more than six points. Ten players scored for the Women of Troy.

Earlier this season, USC coach Michael Cooper said his team would need 20 wins to make it to the NCAA tournament. With the pair of wins in Oregon, the Women of Troy have six games remaining and the Pac-10 tournament to add more wins.

First up for USC is a home date against No. 3 Stanford Friday.  The Cardinal beat USC 95-51 last month in Palo Alto, Calif.  The Women of Troy have another opportunity to exact revenge when they host California Saturday. The Bears beat USC 82-71 earlier this season.