Undefeated USC Women’s Basketball Hosts San José State Tuesday Night At Galen
USC (8-0) vs. San José State (1-6)
Galen Center | Los Angeles, Calif.
Tuesday, Dec. 5 | 7 p.m.
Series Record (since 19716-77): USC leads 5-2
Last Meeting: W 98-72 [12/12/81 • San José, Calif.]
STREAM | STATS
THIS WEEK
Undefeated USC continues its six-game stretch of action at Galen Center with another test this week. On Tuesday night (Dec. 6), the Trojans (8-0) will host San José State (1-6) at 7 p.m. for a chance to expand USC's winning start to the season to nine in a row.
FOLLOW ALONG
Tuesday's USC-SJSU game will be streamed live at pac-12.com/live/usc with Carlo Jiménez on the call.
IN THE POLLS
USC was receiving votes in the preseason USA Today poll. In the latest round of national rankings, USC is receiving votes in the AP Poll (released Dec. 5).
USC IN THE NATION
USC entered the week ranked as the No. 3 team in the nation in scoring defense, having allowed just 48.4 points per game through its 8-0 start to the season. The Trojans also are top-10 in blocks per game and No. 8 in the land with 6.2 bpg as a team. And USC sits in the top-20 for assists per game (12th - 18.9apg) and field goal defense (16th - 33.5 percent).
TROJANS IN THE NATION
Individually, USC enters the week with a few players making their mark on the national stat sheets. With 3.29 blocks per game, Rayah Marshall ranks No. 2 in the nation. Kayla Williams, meanwhile, sits at No. 21 in the land in steals (24), and Kadi Sissoko's field goal percentage of 60.0 has her at No. 25 in the nation.
LAST ACTION
USC's Taylor Bigby scored a career-high 21 points, and senior guard Alyson Miura tied her career best with 19 points to lead USC to a 80-48 victory over Merrimack. The Trojans ended the game tying their program record of most 3-pointers made in a single game (14) and posting the largest margin of victory since the beginning of the 2017-18 season. The Trojans opened up strong in the first quarter, shooting 64.7 percent from the floor compared to the Warriors' 45.5 percent, which decreased to 30.8 percent in the second quarter. With both Merrimack and USC shooting 50 percent from the free-throw line for the first quarter, the Trojans bumped it to 71.4 percent in the second quarter. Going into halftime, USC led Merrimack 49-23 but heightened the pressure coming into the third quarter and was able to lengthen the gap to 70-34 at the end of the frame. USC finished the game with a season high of 27 forced turnovers, which led to a 29-6 advantage in points off turnovers. The Trojans solidified their win by outscoring the Warriors 18-6 in the fourth quarter. USC ran its winning streak to eight games with the biggest margin of victory since defeating Montana State 98-47 on Nov. 10, 2017. Bigby came into the game averaging 4.7 points per season and worked hard to help her teammates get the win by replacing her previous career high of 11 points with 21. Bigby also went 100 percent from the 3-point line (3-for-3), tying her career high. This was her first career start as a Trojan. In her fourth game back from injury, senior Alyson Miura gave the team a spark with her first steals of the season on back-to-back picks in the third quarter. She finished off the game with a career-high five steals and tied career highs with 19 points and five 3-pointers made.
NOTABLE:
- SR Alyson Miura tied her career high with 19 points and set a new career high with five steals.
- Miura also tied her career high with five 3-pointers made.
- SO Taylor Bigby started for the first time this season and set a new career high with 21 points.
- Bigby also made a career-high three 3-pointers.
- SR India Otto scored her first 3-pointer of the season.
- GS Destiny Littleton scored in double digits for the eighth consecutive game.
- GS Rokia Doumbia got her first block of the season.
- JR Koi Love made her first 3-pointer of the season.
- USC won by double-digits for the sixth time this season.
- USC posted its biggest margin of victory this season and largest since 2017.
COMEBACK OVER CBU
USC turned the tide on visiting California Baptist last week, overcoming a first-half deficit to post a final 69-58 win with Destiny Littleton and Kadi Sissoko both recording double-doubles along the way to undefeated USC's seventh straight win of the season. USC was plagued by 17 first-half turnovers as the Trojans lost ground to CBU and was in a 27-25 hole at halftime. USC was outshooting CBU 32 percent to 29.4 percent from the floor, but those turnovers stymied the Trojans' progress in those first 20 minutes as they trailed things at the break. Tidying things up in the second, USC finished with 26 turnovers while picking up its scoring pace. USC outscored CBU 21-9 in the third frame and finished out the game shooting 39.3 percent from the floor to outpace the Lancers' final 33.3 percent. USC controlled the boards to the tune of a 50-25 margin. Four Trojans finished in double digits on the night, led by Destiny Littleton's 16 points and career-high 14 rebounds for her first career double-double. Kadi Sissoko also added a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Kayla Williams scored 13 points and Taylor Bigby added 11 for their first double-digit games as Trojans. CBU received 14 points from Grace Schmidt and 12 from Dorcas Wu.
NOTABLE:
- With two blocks, SO Rayah Marshall extended her streak to 30 straight games with at least one block.
- GS Destiny Littleton recorded her first career double-double with 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
- Littleton's 16 points secured her seventh straight double-digit game.
- With 15 points, GS Kadi Sissoko scored in double digits for the seventh consecutive game.
- With a season-high 12 rebounds to go along with her 15 points, Sissoko recorded her second double-double of the season.
- SO Taylor Bigby recorded a career-high 11 points and two blocks.
- With four steals, GS Okako Adika set a new career high.
- JR Kayla Williams hit a season-high three 3-pointers and scored a season-high 13 points.
- Williams' five steals tied her career high.
- USC won by double digits for the fifth time this season.
2022-23 TROJANS
The Women of Troy are a dynamic group with solid returning talent along with a powerful group of newcomers. The 2022-23 roster features All-Pac-12 honoree Rayah Marshall and its top 3-point scorer Alyson Miura returning from last season, in addition to seven transfers ready to hit the court in Cardinal and Gold. USC's group of grad transfers features an NCAA champion in Destiny Littleton along with three standout internationals in Kadi Sissoko, Rokia Doumbia and Okako Adika. USC has also welcomed undergraduate transfers Kayla Williams, Koi Love and Taylor Bigby to the Trojan Family.
RAYAH'S PAC-12 POWER
USC sophomore Rayah Marshall has added to her Pac-12 accolades with her earning of All-Pac-12 Preseason Honorable Mention from the media. The top-ranked freshman in the nation in blocks last season, Marshall is back for more in her second year as a Trojan. Marshall earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Honorable Mention last year, and was selected to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. She was USC's third leading scorer with 11. 3 points per game while dominating the boards with a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game to go along with her 2.54 blocks per game — ranking her No. 12 overall in the nation in that category.
SIGNED!
JUJU WATKINS | Sierra Canyon HS (Watts, Calif.)
The USC women's basketball program has the stage set for some serious star power with the addition of the nation's top high school player, guard JuJu Watkins, who signed a national letter of intent to join the Women of Troy in 2023. Heralded as the best in the USA, Watkins named the 2022 MaxPreps National Player of the Year as a junior. A native of Watts, Calif., Watkins is sticking to her Los Angeles roots in becoming a Trojan. In addition to her numerous California state accolades, she also brings in significant international experience as a member of the United States U-17 and U-16 national teams. She was named the MVP of the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup in helping Team USA to a gold medal at that event. And in 2021, she was the MVP of the FIBA Americas U16 Championship, where the U.S. squad also won gold. The 6-1 guard has played club ball for Sports Academy Swish GBL. And in her junior season with Sierra Canyon, Watkins piled up state honors as the Gatorade California Girls Basketball Player of the Year, CIF Mc. Basketball State Player of the Year, Los Angeles Times Player of the Year and Los Angeles Daily News Player of the Year in 2022.
MALIA SAMUELS | Garfield HS (Seattle, Wash.)
USC gets another guard stronger with the addition of Seattle product Malia Samuels, who signed a national letter of intent to become a Trojan. A 5-6 guard, Samuels was the 2021-22 3A Washington State Player of the Year as a junior. Also named State Tournament MVP that season, she was an All-State First Team honoree. A regular on all-state honor rolls and the 2022 Metro League Player of the Year, she averaged 16.5 points, 6.3 assist, 6.1 steals and 3.4 rebounds per game at the guard slots. At the club level, she has competed for Greyhounds and is considered the top girls basketball recruit out of the state of Washington in this 2023 class. •