Friday, January 22, 1999
Struggling USC should prove no problem for powerful Bruins
WHOOPS: No. 10 UCLA makes its presence known in both conference,
nation
By A.CinQue Carter
Daily Bruin Contributor
It really was not supposed to be like this. This was supposed to
continue to be a great rivalry for women’s basketball.
Three seasons ago, former USC standout Tina Thompson scored 49
points in a 22-point victory over UCLA. That same season, Bruin
point guard Erica Gomez got a triple-double in a 16-point victory
over Southern Cal as a freshman.
Additionally, two seasons ago, UCLA fought hard for the better
part of both contests vs. the Trojans but dropped both of them.
Last season, the opposite happened. The Bruins, clearly a
superior team, eked out a 68-64 victory at USC and had a bit of an
easier time at home.
After her team’s home loss, USC coach Chris Gobrecht said, "If
you don’t beat us now, then you’ll never beat us."
While it is unclear if that would have been the case had the
Trojans (6-9, 2-4 Pac-10) not lost four guards and one forward to
injury, it definitely is not the case since they did lose those
players.
USC, continuing to work hard despite their riddled lineup, is in
the midst of a horror-filled season that might see them finish last
in the Pac-10 if not for the likes of Oregon State and Arizona
State, the teams the Trojans have defeated.
"We have been hit hard by injuries," USC center Adrain (CQ)
Williams said of her squad. "It is kind of unbelievable what we
have had to endure but we will keep fighting."
Forward Tiffany Washington said, "This is truly
unbelievable."
UCLA, on the other hand, is 14-4 overall and has won seven
straight for the second time this season, to post a 6-0 conference
record. The teams could not be further apart.
The Bruins have the fifth-toughest schedule in the nation, with
all four losses coming to three teams ranked in the top-10
presently and one team that was there earlier in the season.
UCLA has also defeated the former thorns in its side, Arizona
and Oregon, and brought a screeching halt to Stanford’s eight years
of conference home dominance.
USC has the nation’s ninth toughest schedule, but it has worn
them down. In addition to losing to the three teams just mentioned,
they also lost to UC Berkeley.
Of the nine major Pac-10 statistical categories, USC ranks 10th
in four, sixth or worse in three and fifth in two. Conversely, UCLA
is first in three and top four in three others.
Twin guards Kim and Kristin Clark are gone for the season, as
are guards Kiyoko Miller and Erica Mashia. And forward Jodi
Parriott is gone as well.
This has left Williams (16.4 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.6 BPG), Washington
(7.3, 5.7), sophomore forward Tashara Carter (7.3, 5.7) and
freshman guard Tiffany Elmore (11.4, 3.5) to carry the weight of
USC’s production.
For UCLA, junior forward Maylana Martin continues to lead the
team in scoring with 18.0 PPG and rebounding with 9.6 RPG.
And junior center Janae Hubbard is not far behind, chipping in
14.4 PPG and 7.9 RPG. Gomez is third in the nation in assists with
8.22 per game, 8.5 during Pac-10 play. Junior forward Marie Philman
leads the conference in free throw percentage in conference play at
88.2 percent.
Sophomore LaCresha Flannigan continues her stranglehold on the
starting shooting guard spot she earned 10 games ago.
She is one of four Bruins averaging double figures in scoring
and is fourth in the Pac-10 in scoring in the last six games with
16.8 PPG and third in FG percentage with a .607 average.
All things considered, the No. 10 Bruins are heavily favored to
win this game but cannot become complacent as they did against
Notre Dame and Duke. USC is just another bump on the road to the
Bruins’ bid for a perfect conference season.
"We feel like now it’s our turn," Martin said.
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