USC's Briana Gilbreath bounced back with a career game. (Shotgun Spratling)

"I kind of was shocked," USC forward Briana Gilbreath said. "I was like, 'Maybe she doesn't realize they were down by three.' We just let her go"

Gilbreath was referring to Oregon's Nia Jackson, who inexplicably drove the length of the court and attempted a layup in the final seconds of USC's 79-76 win Thursday night, rather than attempting a game-tying 3-pointer.

Gilbreath gave the Women of Troy a three-point lead after she knocked down a shot-clock-beating jumper in the middle of the lane with less than seven seconds remaining.

She tied a career-high with 26 points in the game despite playing only 26 minutes due to early foul trouble. And she was instrumental in leading the Trojans back from a 10-point second half defecit.

USC (12-4, 4-1) followed the close victory with a 53-45 win over scrappy Oregon State (7-10, 0-6) Saturday afternoon for a weekend sweep at the Galen Center.

-- BREAKING IT DOWN --

By the Numbers

• 35.9 & 31.7 - USC shot just 34.0 percent for the week. Point guard Ashley Corral, usually one of the team's most consistent shooters, was 6-for-27 from the floor and only 3-for-17 from 3-point range. Every player had a field goal percentage below 50 percent.
• +16 - In the tight win over Oregon, USC was 16 points better than the Ducks when Gilbreath was on the floor. That means the Women of Troy were -13 when she was sitting on the bench in foul trouble.

  "Bri does a lot of things well for us," coach Michael Cooper said. "We don't look for her just to score points for us, but when she does that's an added bonus. It shows how good and how versatile she is."

• 102-80 - The Women of Troy outrebounded Oregon 56-42 and Oregon State 46-38. They also dominated on the offensive boards, grabbing 23 against the Ducks and 16 versus the Beavers. Cassie Harberts led the way. The freshman recorded a career-high 18 rebounds in the Oregon game, including six on the offensive end. She then set a career high with seven offensive rebounds against the undersized front line of Oregon State.
• 5 - Jacki Gemelos set a career high with five blocks against Oregon. It was part of a complete game. Gemelos also had 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• 7-0 - USC continued its streak of perfection at the Galen Center this season, improving to 7-0 at home.

  "It's important that you take care of home court. We have some tough games coming up, and you take your chances on the road," Cooper said. "But, home court is very, very important -- simply for the fact, the Pac-10 conference [tournament] comes through the Galen Center.

  "If we feel good and comfortable that this is a place of no losses, it's going to make our life a lot easier."

Top Player: Briana Gilbreath.

After having the worst shooting performance of her career (0-for-12) against UCLA, Gilbreath bounced back with a career-high 26 points against Oregon and was the team's second-leading scorer against the Beavers with 13 points.

The former McDonald's All-American showed her all-around game, pulling down seven rebounds in each game, swiping a combined five steals and getting a pair of blocks.

Freshman Cassie Harberts gets fouled as she goes up for a basket against Oregon. (Shotgun Spratling)

Unsung Hero: Cassie Harberts.

Coach Michael Cooper said he thought Harberts hit a wall a couple of weeks ago.

"What we've been doing with all of our games and practices, is almost like a full season of high school," he said. "She's gotten a little bit of rest and I think she's getting her second wind now."

The freshman wasn't great shooting the ball (3-for-10 and 3-for-11), but she did a phenomenal job rebounding, recording back-to-back double-digit totals.

A missed free throw late in the ball game against Oregon State kept Harberts from recording consecutive double-doubles after she notched the second of her young career versus Oregon with 11 points and 18 rebounds.

"Step It Up:" Ashley Corral.

Corral knows it is important for her to knock down open shots. But right now, the ball just isn't going in the hoop. In her last six games, Corral has missed 53 shots for a 27.4 field goal percentage.

"I don't want to overthink it. I think that might be what I'm doing right now," Corral said. "Shooters don't think, they just shoot."

The junior guard entered the week as USC's second-leading scorer, but her scoring average is now down to 12.3 points and she is averaging only 7.2 points in conference play.

Last season, Corral led the team scoring 15.1 points per game and the Women of Troy need her to be a part of a three-headed scoring machine on the outside with Gilbreath and Gemelos.

Where They Stand:

They weren't the prettiest of wins for USC, but wins are wins -- especially in conference play. The Women of Troy are now 4-1 in the Pac-10 and have held serve, winning their first two conference games at the Galen Center.

USC now must go on the road to the Bay Area to play Cal and Stanford in the toughest of the conference road trips.

Stanford is one of the top teams in the country (currently ranked No. 4) and has won seven consecutive games, including breaking Connecticut's 90-game winning streak.

Cal came into the season expected to compete at the top of the conference, but they are coming off a surprising loss to Washington State on Friday.

At 12-4, USC is still sitting just outside of the top 25 and could really make a statement with a win over a top 5 program in Stanford. However, Cooper and the Women of Troy probably would be satisfied with a split on the road.

A split would keep them in contention for a strong seed in the Pac-10 conference and in position to receive a NCAA Tournament at-large bid from the NCAA selection committee.

To reach Shotgun Spratling, click here, or follow him on Twitter @BlueWorkhorse.

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