In case you didn’t hear, USC women’s basketball won Tuesday night.
Actually, won is a a massive understatement. USC women’s basketball completely and utterly dominated the lifeless corpse of Cal State Northridge, which had the misfortune of being the Women of Troy’s opponent.
USC led 30-6 after one quarter. At halftime, it was 60-13. Through three quarters, it was 97-20. When the final buzzer sounded, the Trojans had a historic 124-39 victory, and the visitors from Northridge could mercifully go home.
USC’s 124 points scored were a new program record. It was also the Trojans’ second consecutive victory by a margin of 55+ points.
Sure, those games came against Cal Poly and Cal State Northridge, but any time a team wins by 55 and then 85 points, it raises eyebrows.
It is still only three games into the season. The No. 3 Trojans still have nonconference showdowns with No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 2 UConn, plus a gauntlet of a Big Ten schedule, which features seven games against top-25 opponents.
But if early results are any indication, the Women of Troy are going to be a force to be reckoned with this season.
The ugly opener against Ole Miss was the floor for this team. It will play good defense even when it plays bad offense and can stay in games in which it commits turnovers and endures a rough slog at the offensive end. USC will be competitive even when it plays poorly. These last two games against Cal Poly and especially Northridge offer a glimpse of where this team’s ceiling can be. The defense is the constant, but we have seen the offense improve. Notably, Talia von Oelhoffen was finally able to score in double figures. Getting her going really raises this team’s ceiling and raises the bar for what this team can become.
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