University of Oregon
USC
USC Tops Oregon 80-76 In Quarterfinal Thriller
03/13/10 | Women's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – A wide-open 3-pointer on the wing knocked down by USC sophomore guard Ashley Corral with 24 seconds to go provided the cushion and spark the No. 3 seeded Trojans needed to defeat No. 6 seeded Oregon, 80-76, in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Tournament on Friday night at the Galen Center.
The Ducks trailed by the narrow margin of 72-71 when Oregon senior Micalea Cocks fouled USC's Aarika Hughes sending her to the line with 52 seconds to play. The senior drained her first from the line but missed the second, and as the loose ball was headed out of bounds, USC's Hailey Dunham made a diving effort to keep the ball in play.
That effort and extra Trojan possession led to Corral's game-breaking 3-pointer as Briana Gilbreath got to a loose on the floor and found a wide open Corral waiting on the wing to make the score 76-71 with 24 seconds remaining.
With the loss, the Ducks end the season with a 16-15 record and on a seven-game losing streak. Oregon is eligible to be selected for the WNIT due to its overall record being above .500. The tournament announces the 64-team field at 11 p.m. ET on Monday.
USC (19-11) will now advance to Saturday's semifinal to play the No. 23 team in the country and No. 2 seed at the Pac-10 Tournament, UCLA.
Oregon had three players score in double figures led by Taylor Lilley's game-high 22 points. The Newhall, Calif., native was 8-of-15 from the floor and knocked down four 3-pointers, bringing her season total to 112 on the year, a total that ranks 11th in NCAA single-season history.
Junior forward Kenyon was 6-of-10 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line while knocking down two 3-pointers on her way to a career-high 18 points. Sophomore guard Nia Jackson also scored 18 while tallying four assists and a team-leading four steals. Micaela Cocks had a game-high five assists, while Amanda Johnson led Oregon with six rebounds.
USC outscored Oregon 34-26 in the paint, and also converted 21 second-chance points on 13 offensive rebounds as the Ducks were outworked on the boards 48-35. USC's bench also outscored UO 18-4.
Briana Gilbreath led the Trojans with 19 points, while also contributing seven rebounds, four assists and game highs in blocks (four) and steals (five). Kari LaPlante was a force in the paint with 15 points, while Corral added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Jasmin Holliday gave the Ducks a five-point cushion, 64-59, after sinking four consecutive free throws on two separate possessions by the 9:16 mark. But Oregon's offense would then sputter after building its lead, turning the ball over five times by the 5:14 mark as USC took a 70-67 advantage on an 11-3 run.
Following Corral's dagger from long distance with 24 seconds to go, Jackson drove straight to the bucket and drew the foul. The Seattle native calmly knocked down her freebie at the free-throw line to convert her second three-point play of the day and bring the Ducks within 76-74 with 16 seconds left on the clock.
UO then fouled on USC's following possession, and Trojan guard Jacki Gemelos hit both free throws as well as two more after a Lilley turnover to end the game
Oregon trailed 39-34 at halftime, held scoreless by USC for the final 3:02 of the game after a jumper from Jackson had the Ducks behind just 35-34 with 3:02 on the clock.
The lead exchanged hands eight times in the first half with the Trojans having the biggest advantage, 20-15, with 11:35 remaining after back-to-back 3-pointers from Corral and Hughes.
A Lilley 3-pointer and a Johnson layup gave the Ducks a 28-27 advantage with 6:26 to play, but USC then took a 31-28 lead after drives from Gemelos and Corral were converted with 5:06 remaining.
Lilley was 5-of-9 from the field to lead Oregon with 12 first-half points, while Kenyon and Jackson added eight points apiece as the Ducks shot 40.0 percent (14-of-35) from the floor.
LaPlante led USC with 13 points in the first 20 minutes as the Trojans shot 43.6 percent (17-of-39) from the floor as USC's bench outscored the Ducks 8-0.
Notes: The Ducks have not advanced past quarterfinals in five consecutive Pac-10 Tournaments…Oregon's 16 wins on the season are its most since the 2006-07 season as UO finished 17-14…Taylor Lilley's 112 3-pointers this season are second in the country to Chynna Bozeman of Morehead St. Lilley's total ranks 11th in NCAA single-season history…Lilley's 258 career 3-pointers also rank third all-time in the Pac-10…Lilley's 1,360 career points rank 10th in Oregon all-time history…the senior's 546 points this season ranks 10th all-time in Oregon single-season history…her .414 single-season 3-point field goal percentage ranks sixth in UO history as well. Lilley's 154 career steals rank 9th all-time, and her all-time 3-point field goal percentage of .388 ranks sixth all-time…Lilley's 22-point performance tonight was the 68th double-figure scoring game of her career, ranking ninth in Oregon history…the game was also her 11th 20-point game of the season and the 25th of her career. Oregon senior Micaela Cocks played in the 122nd game of her career tying for third all-time with Kaela Chapdelaine...Cocks also leaves Oregon with the best free-throw percentage in the history of the program - .862 (213-247)…Cocks' 166 career 3-pointer rank fifth all-time…Nia Jackson's 79 steals this season ranks seventh in single-season UO history.
