Trojans trample women’s basketball
USC’s Thompson dominates court with inside, outside shooting
By Emmanuelle Ejercito
Daily Bruin Staff
Riding on the shoulders of star forward Tina Thompson, the
University of Southern California defeated the UCLA women’s
basketball team 96-78 on Saturday afternoon at the Lyon Center.
Scoring over half of USC’s points, Thompson extended her
six-game streak of scoring over 20 points per game to seven.
"I knew it was going to be a hard fought battle for us," USC
head coach Fred Williams said. "I felt that if we shot well from
the outside … we could score some points, but what happened was
Thompson caught on fire and stayed on fire."
Thompson was unstoppable as she shot 16 of 22 from the field,
including four from beyond the three-point arc, and made 13 of 13
free throws on her way to a career-high 49 points.
"A post player with that kind of quickness – it’s hard to do a
lot against that," UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier said. "She did so
much, she was hitting the three, she was getting the rebounds, she
was doing everything."
Thompson was strong from the inside, also. The 6-foot-2-inch
junior grabbed 15 rebounds, five offensive and 10 defensive as the
women of Troy out-rebounded the Bruins, 45-28. The margin was even
greater on the defensive boards, with USC (8-8 overall, 3-4 Pacific
10) snatching 31 while UCLA had 12.
"I think that the whole chemistry of our team (clicked),"
Thompson said. "Everything was flowing so well for us, it made
everything kind of happen for everyone."
The game stayed close for most of the first half. Off of a
Trojan turnover, Erica Gomez made a behind-the-back pass to Kisa
Hughes, who then made a bank shot for two as the Bruins (9-7, 4-3)
clawed back from a 10-point deficit to get within two points with
5:30 left in the half. But USC went on an 11-3 run in the last
three minutes of the half to lead 46-34.
The Bruins threatened to come back early in the second half when
they pulled within seven, but could get no closer. USC put the game
out of reach with a 7-0 run.
While Southern Cal shot close to 60 percent from the field, the
Bruins had trouble connecting, shooting 16 of 46 in the second half
and 31 of 74 in the game.
"(USC) was playing a 2-3 (zone)," Olivier said. "Anytime you see
a 2-3, you better have an outside shooter. We were just lacking
someone to hit the outside shot."
The scoring for UCLA, however, was well distributed. All five of
the starters scored in double digits. Nickey Hilbert led the Bruins
with 17 points and four steals, followed by Gomez’s 16, while
Hughes, Tawana Grimes and Zrinka Kristich had 12.
FRED HE/Daily Bruin
USC’s Tina Thompson torched the UCLA women’s basketball team for
49 points on Saturday, 96-78.