Usc Women

In the off-season, the USC women's players spent a lot of time running, on orders from first-year Coach Michael Cooper. On Friday, against an Oregon team that never stops running, it paid off. The third-seeded Trojans got caught up in sixth-seeded Ducks' fastbreak offense Friday, but beat the Ducks at their own game, winning 80-76, at the Galen Center to advance to Saturday's semifinal round of the State Farm Pac-10 women's tournament. "All that running, you know it's going to pay off in the end, so it motivates us to get through practice," Trojans forward Christina Marinacci said.

Time will tell whether Cynthia Cooper-Dyke can restore USC to relevancy in women's basketball. But on Tuesday, when she was introduced as the Trojans' new coach, it was clear that her hiring already had infused the program with a new energy. A group of former Trojans teammates, USC administrators and fans and football Coach Lane Kiffin were among those on hand at a rousing news conference to welcome Cooper-Dyke, who grew up in Los Angeles, played on USC national championship teams in 1983 and 1984, won an Olympic gold medal and led the Houston Comets to four consecutive WNBA titles.

Cynthia Cooper-Dyke is coming home. The Los Angeles Locke High alum who played on two NCAA championship teams at USC and competed in the WNBA was hired as USC's women's basketball coach, the school announced Thursday. Cooper-Dyke, who coached last season at Texas Southern, replaces Michael Cooper, whose USC team finished 11-20 last season. "If you were to ask me what my dream job was at any point in my coaching career, I would always have said my dream is to come back and lead the USC women's basketball team," Cooper-Dyke said in a statement.

Cynthia Cooper-Dyke is coming home. The Los Angeles Locke High alum who played on two NCAA championship teams at USC and competed in the WNBA was hired as USC's women's basketball coach, the school announced Thursday. Cooper-Dyke, who coached last season at Texas Southern, replaces Michael Cooper, whose USC team finished 11-20 last season. "If you were to ask me what my dream job was at any point in my coaching career, I would always have said my dream is to come back and lead the USC women's basketball team," Cooper-Dyke said in a statement.

Men Houston Baptist 88, Cal State Fullerton 83: Tyler Russell scored 20 points, leading five Houston Baptist players in double figures in a win over the Titans at Lafayette, La. Ronald March and Marcel Smith scored 17 each, Marcus Davis had 15 and Joe Latas 12 for the Huskies (2-3) in the Beryl Shipley Classic. D.J. Seeley had 25 points for the Titans (3-1), Kwame Vaughn scored 21 and Omondi Amoke 20. Women at No. 12 Georgia 67, No. 23 USC 60: Senior Meredith Mitchell scored a career-high 21 points for the Bulldogs in a win against the Trojans.

The USC women's basketball team suffered its second consecutive defeat on a trip to the Midwest, losing to the Michigan Wolverines, 82-61, Monday at Ann Arbor, Mich. The Wolverines (6-3) started off with hot shooting, making 10 of 14 three-point shots in the first half on the way to a 48-28 halftime lead. The Trojans (4-4), who shot 35.5% overall, didn't get closer than six points. Heather Oliver led USC with 11 points.

The USC women's basketball team, hoping to start a season-ending winning streak and ride it into the NCAA tournament, plays UCLA at the Sports Arena tonight at 7:30. The Trojans, 16-7 overall and 9-6 in the Pacific 10 Conference, are fourth in the conference. The NCAA is expected to select five Pac-10 teams for the tournament. UCLA (10-14, 5-10) is sixth and has struggled this season, but USC needed a last-second basket by Tina Thompson to beat the Bruins on Feb. 4 at Pauley Pavilion, 56-55.

When push finally came to shove for the USC women's basketball team Monday at the Galen Center, the Trojans looked to their bench to squelch Utah's three-point barrage in a 62-45 nonconference victory. USC (4-2) had dominated through the first half. Camille LeNoir scored all eight of her points as USC led, 32-15, at halftime. It reached 35-16 before Morgan Warburton made four consecutive three-pointers for Utah (5-3), a team that lost to Stanford in double overtime earlier this season.

Milena Flores scored 21 points and Jamie Carey added 14 as the Stanford women's basketball team beat USC, 69-56, in a Pacific 10 Conference game Saturday. Stanford, 14-5 overall and 7-2 in conference play, is tied with UCLA for first place in the conference. USC (8-11, 3-6) played without injured starting center Tiffany Washington. Flores scored 15 points in the first half. She made seven of 12 shots in the game and all six of her free throws. Carey scored 11 points in the second half.

USC's women's basketball team sent out a signal Saturday night and an understanding of Morse code wasn't needed to pick it up. Tina Thompson, the team's 6-foot-3 All-American senior, does have a supporting cast. The Trojans, behind Thompson's typical punishing game--26 points and 15 rebounds--upended San Francisco, 68-55, before 2,806 at McConnell Center to advance to the second round of the Mideast Regional, where USC will play Florida on Monday.

Kevin Durant is one of the NBA's most beloved stars, but that wasn't enough to keep him from a $25,000 fine for pretending to cut his throat after a dunk against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. Durant's score and what the NBA deemed a “menacing gesture,” came off a Russell Westbrook block on the defensive end of the floor during the second quarter of Oklahoma City's 116-97 win over Golden State. Westbrook, guarding Stephen Curry, chased down the smaller point guard and swatted away his layup, sending the ball into Durant's hands.

There will be big doings for USC athletics Saturday at the Coliseum. And no, Matt Barkley did not get another year of eligibility. This has to do with lacrosse, which brings to mind one of two things for most of us: a medium-sized city in Wisconsin or a sport with sticks. Sticks it will be. Also, a beginning. USC will play its first-ever NCAA game, at 3 p.m., in a sport that is a big deal in the East and barely on the radar in these parts. It will be women's lacrosse, 12 scholarships spread among 26 student athletes.

USC wide receiver Marqise Lee qualified for the NCAA championships in the long jump with a leap of 25 feet 5 1/2 inches on Thursday at the NCAA West preliminary rounds at Austin, Texas. Lee, a freshman, jumped 18-3 3/4 inches on his first attempt. He fouled on his second before his qualifying wind-aided leap, according to USC. Lee, who finished seventh, will compete in the NCAA championships on June 6-9 at Des Moines, Iowa. USC's Kristine Busa also qualified for the NCAA championships by finishing fourth in the women's javelin with a throw of 164 feet 7 inches.

The USC women's water polo team fell short of a national championship Sunday, losing to Stanford, 6-4, in the title match at San Diego. The Trojans (23-6) tied the score four times but couldn't prevent a late push by the Cardinal (26-2) that secured the championship. USC had defeated rival UCLA in a semifinal Saturday to reach the championship match. Stanford goalie Kate Baldoni finished with 15 saves. The Trojans' goals came from Madeline Rosenthal, Colleen O'Donnell, Patricia Jancso and Monica Vavic.

Second-seeded UCLA put away Iona, 14-3, and No. 3-seeded USC dominated Princeton, 14-2, on Friday in the opening round of the NCAA women's water polo championship tournament at San Diego State. UC Irvine was an 8-6 winner over Loyola Marymount, and Pomona-Pitzer fell to Stanford, 17-5. Senior KK Clark scored four goals for the Bruins (22-3), who established a 5-0 lead and never looked back. Sarah Orozco, another senior, had a hat trick for UCLA, which moved into a semifinal match Saturday with USC (22-5)

Coop knows it's coming. The USC women's basketball coach -- full name, Michael Jerome Cooper, of Lakers fame -- knows Saturday morning's game at UCLA will feature a heavy downpour of vitriolic comments, all aimed at him. "They're going to have a pretty nice crowd," Cooper said, "and I'm pretty sure they're going to be yelling and screaming" at him. . That thought comes after Cooper raised a hullabaloo by directing an expletive at UCLA...

Tina Thompson scored 23 points and Lisa Leslie added 22 and 13 rebounds as the 11th-ranked USC women's basketball team defeated Athletes in Action, 89-63, in an exhibition game Saturday night at the Lyon Center. USC trailed by two points at halftime, then outscored Athletes in Action, 52-29, in the second half. Tracy Atwater added 16 points and Nicky McCrimmon had 10 for the Trojans. USC held a 52-29 rebounding edge. Lisa Foss led Athletes in Action with 22 points.