Southern California at Long Beach State

The Women of Troy kick off their season Friday, opening at home against Gonzaga. It will be a bit of a blood match, as it was almost exactly a year ago when USC fell to the Bulldogs on the road. 

Friday’s matchup is the first of many tough contests for the Trojans, a team that aspires to reach the NCAA Tournament under second-year head coach Michael Cooper. His girls finished the 2009-10 season 19-12 and came thisclose to earning a spot in the tourney. 

This year, says Cooper, they’ve got championship on the brain (so much for taking it “one game at a time”, as every other coach/player in the world loves to claim they do). 

But before they can see their name in brackets, USC will battle it out with several stellar teams. Six of their first 11 matchups will pit them against top-ranked programs, beginning with Monday’s game against sixth-slated Duke. 

Pac-10 play doesn’t begin until December 31 and after that it’s all Pac-10, all the time. The Trojans must make great use of the nearly two months they have to get ready for those games, because conference competition this year is anything but vanilla. USC is projected to finish fourth, behind Stanford (No. 3), UCLA (No. 16), and Cal (currently unranked). 

 With the departure of four seniors, USC has a relatively young team that’s shown a lot of improvement during the offseason. They're a team worth keeping an eye on this season.

Players to watch:

The women will rally around a core four this year: Junior guards Ashley Corral and Briana Gilbreath, senior center Kari LaPlante, and Briana’s sister, red shirt sophomore Stephanie Gilbreath. 

Stephanie’s story is an interesting subplot to the season; in the three years she’s spent at USC, she’s been sidelined with ACL injuries each season and has yet to suit up for the Trojans. The Gonzaga game will mark her debut. She should be an impact player all year. 

Also worth watching are freshmen Len’Nique Brown and Cassie Harberts.  The 5-foot-5 Brown uses her size to her advantage— she’s known for her speed and trickery. Harberts, a 6-foot-2 forward, was ranked 11th overall in her recruiting class and widely viewed as the kind of player who can change a team.

On the court:

The Trojans have spent a lot of practice time working on shooting. They’re looking to improve upon a team field goal percentage of 37.8 percent in ’09-10. They’ll do that by spreading the ball around — in their exhibition win against Biola, five different Trojans put up double-digit points. 

Corral and Briana Gilbreath led the team in statistical offense last year, and the Trojans will need both to put up great numbers again. But Cooper says defense will be the team’s absolute key to winning games this year. To that effect, he spent the pre-season drilling the girls in defensive maneuvers. One-on-one defense was their biggest area of focus, but look for improvements in rebounding (they averaged 37 per game last season) and transition defense (recovering steals, stopping fast breaks) as well.

Can’t miss games:

Duke this Monday will be an early test to see how the Trojan ladies can hang in away games.  Just over a week later, on Nov. 23, SC will face always-ranked and always tough Georgia at home. On Dec. 2, tune in to see Troy battle Xavier, currently ranked fifth in the nation, on the road.

As we greet 2011, a whirlwind of Pac-10 play begins. 

SC will meet Stanford, by whom they were defeated twice last season, on Jan. 22 and Feb. 18. And the most anticipated games of the season will likely be against UCLA on Jan. 8 and Feb. 6 -- Cooper takes the rivalry quite seriously.

Still, USC's coach is unfazed by the team’s daunting schedule. “In order to be the best,” he says, “you have to play the best.”  His plans for the season include a Pac-10 championship. 

Championship is certainly a word that’s been lacking in USC Women’s basketball since their back-to-back national wins in 1983 and 1984. Cooper, who knows a thing or two about winning championships, thinks his team has what it takes to bring the honor back. 

 “We’re a team of good discipline; running our offense, executing our defense,” he says.  “If we do those things that’ll give us a chance of getting up off our knees and walking to a Pac-10 championship.”

To reach writer Kate Rooney, click here.

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