The USC women’s basketball team came achingly close to beating UCLA twice in recent weeks. The Trojans lost twice to the Bruins by a combined total of four points. In one of the two losses, they had a double-digit lead heading into the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold on. A program in a building and transition phase, with players learning how to win, needed to get the statement victory which enables everyone in the locker room to see that success can be achieved.
No moral victories, no almosts, no “good job, good effort” participation trophies. USC needed to finish the job against an elite team in order to know that this program is on its way back to the top, on its way to greateness, on its way to restoring the stature and national relvance USC women’s basketball possessed in its 1980s glory days under Cheryl Miller.
Sunday afternoon in the Galen Center, the Women of Troy got the job done. They finished what they started, and they did it against the really big fish in women’s Pac-12 college basketball.
The Trojans toppled the big, tall Trees of Tara VanDerveer and Stanford, shocking the Cardinal in a 55-46 defensive masterpiece.
The Cardinal, No. 2 in the country and previously unbeaten in Pac-12 play, are a Final Four and national championship contender for a reason. They played a typically strong, tough game on Friday night to beat No. 8 UCLA on the road. Stanford has lots of high-end wins on its resume. That comes from having superstars such as Cameron Brink and Haley Jones plus role players such as Hannah Jump. Stanford has two primary scoring options but also size and length on the glass which can put back misses, and capable supporting-cast players who can hit shots when open.
To beat Stanford, a team needs to be extremely tough, very attentive, able to play initial defense but also tend to the glass and then minimize mistakes on offense to avoid giving the Cardinal cheap points on fast breaks before the defense can set up.
USC checked every box on Sunday.
It starts with forcing tough shots and not letting Stanford’s power get to the rim for layups and easy finishes. USC held Cameron Brink to 3-of-14 shooting, Haley Jones to 3-of-13 shooting. That doesn’t happen if those two stars are getting to the rim. USC simply won the territorial battle and would not concede any real estate near the basket.
Stanford hit just 4 of 21 3-pointers, exhibiting a lack of an ability to work the ball for close-in attempts. The Cardinal couldn’t hit shots when the USC defense packed the paint and clogged driving lanes. That’s how to beat Stanford. Teams must make the Trees hit threes, and that did not happen.
Let’s also check the boards: Stanford outrebounded USC by only four, 40-36. USC held its own against a very powerful and physically gifted team.
The other essential piece of the puzzle: turnovers. Stanford committed 14, USC only 7. Points off turnovers were even, 4-4.
That is the core of any winning plan and successful effort against Stanford. Make the game ugly and difficult. Force Stanford to hit 3-pointers. Don’t give the Cardinal anything cheap or easy.
One more testament to how physically strong USC was in this game: 26 free throw attempts to just 10 for Stanford. USC made nine more foul shots in a game decided by nine points. USC beat Stanford by nine despite shooting only 27 percent from the field (15-55).
Just stop and imagine what USC would have done if it had shot the ball well.
Coach Lindsay Gottlieb created the perfect defensive game plan. Her players could not have done a better job of implementing it.
USC basketball made a major national statement. Now — with a victory which was real and complete, not merely a moral one — the Trojans can truly say, with total confidence and certain knowledge, they are on the road back to greatness.
It’s not wishing and hoping. It’s not coming close and thinking the good times are just around the corner. No, it’s real. When a team beats Stanford despite hitting only 27 percent from the field, it’s clear that the right mentality, the right identity, and the right culture exist. With future recruiting classes coming in, and with transfer portal prospects taking notice, USC basketball is poised to take a big leap forward under Lindsay Gottlieb.
The future just came a lot closer at USC, and that future looks very bright.
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