[81alum]

Are these USC O-boards due to failure to block out?   I can imagine that being part of it, but I am only listening to audio.

No, mostly it's the ball coming hard off the rim and the refs refusing to call fouls.  They are over the back mugging our players on every rebound.

+1 +1 +1

The character of this game was determined by the officiating.  You may all remember the earlier post where I said a loosely called game would favor SC by neutralizing our  offense.  And what did we get?  Refs who let almost anything go.  Half as many fouls called as in an average game, and this was no average game.  Fortunately, we can mug with the best of them, and so we got two teams beating on each other, going over the back regularly, grabbing and holding anyone going inside.  It was very obvious from courtside. 

Credit should be given to Tara for figuring out how to defend Littleton, who killed us in the first quarter and then was held in check the rest of the game.  Holding USC to 0/7 from three point range in the 4th quarter was very important.  Our defense, after the first, was admirable for the most part: giving up 9, 11, and 10 points.  We out-USC'd USC.  We held them to 22% shooting.  I wonder if that is a record low.  Our 9 blocks, including 6 by Brink, were a big part of that.

We also kept our turnovers down and USC got fewer steals off us than in the last game.  Our ball handling, while far from perfect, improved.

On the other hand, giving up 20 O-boards was horrific.  But some of this was poor officiating and allowing countless over-the-backs and pushing and shoving with no consequences.  But we were allowed to do it too, and we did not cheat quite as well as USC did.

It was easy to see that the team has worked on getting Jump open off screens.  She was set up well on quite a few occasions.  Unfortunately, she is only a deadly sharpshooter when she catch-and-shoots from a stationary position.  When she has to move laterally behind a screen and shoot her accuracy is greatly hampered.  Other teams know this.

Nivar has to be a very bright spot in this ugly win.  4/4, and very aggressive at going for O-boards and put backs.  She even had a block.  She got 26 minutes to Lepolo's 17, so Tara thinks she is progressing, quite clearly.  When USC was pressing, Tara had both Lepolo and Nivar in for ball handling.

In the chalk talk, Kate Paye made many insightful comments in respond to a range of questions.  She pointed out that the first time we played USC we had a compressed time to prepare, since we were going from a late Friday game to an early Sunday game.  She also noted that many of the USC players were transfers we had never played against before.  It sounded to me almost as if she was taking responsibility for not producing an adequate scout and preparing the team the first time around, and she did not mince words about how poor our performance was.  But I left that talk thinking that the coaching staff had corrected those issues, we had adequate time, we had played these players before, and I was pretty confident that we would excel tonight.  When I learned that Raya Marshall would not start--and apparently did not make the trip--I thought the possibility of a blowout was real. 

Well, despite the positives on defense, our offense stagnated again against USC.  Well, we did score 4 more points against them, but clearly the USC defense knows how to shut down Jones and keep Brink and Jump in check.  In the first game Lepolo had 9 points, 0 in this game.  Nivar in the first game had 2 points, 9 in this game.  Offense seems to have switched from one guard to the next, but an approximate wash.

Jump first game: 0/5, 0/3 from three point range.  Second game: 2/8 overall, 2/8 from three.

Brink first game: 3/14 for 11 points.  Second game: 4/12 for 12 points.

Jones first game: 3/13 for 8 points.  Second game: 4/14 for 8 points.

Here is an interesting stat.  In the first game we were called for 23 fouls and USC 9.  Second game: Stanford 9 and USC 10.

Point differential from free throws:  First game USC + 9; Second game: USC + 6.  It is unfathomable that given how USC plays defense that they should come out on top in points scored from free throws in both games.

We have 3 more very difficult games in the regular season, then probably a repeat of most of those same games against the same opponents in the Pac 12 tourney.  I fully expect to have to play USC a third time.  While I am disappointed with our lack of offensive progress, the outcome was a whole lot better than last time, and a win is a win.  And after this slugfest, I think I have to believe that WE have the best defense in the Pac-12.  We should be well prepared for Colorado.

[81alum]

Are these USC O-boards due to failure to block out?   I can imagine that being part of it, but I am only listening to audio.

No, mostly it's the ball coming hard off the rim and the refs refusing to call fouls.  They are over the back mugging our players on every rebound.

+1 +1 +1

The character of this game was determined by the officiating.  You may all remember the earlier post where I said a loosely called game would favor SC by neutralizing our  offense.  And what did we get?  Refs who let almost anything go.  Half as many fouls called as in an average game, and this was no average game.  Fortunately, we can mug with the best of them, and so we got two teams beating on each other, going over the back regularly, grabbing and holding anyone going inside.  It was very obvious from courtside. 

Credit should be given to Tara for figuring out how to defend Littleton, who killed us in the first quarter and then was held in check the rest of the game.  Holding USC to 0/7 from three point range in the 4th quarter was very important.  Our defense, after the first, was admirable for the most part: giving up 9, 11, and 10 points.  We out-USC'd USC.  We held them to 22% shooting.  I wonder if that is a record low.  Our 9 blocks, including 6 by Brink, were a big part of that.

We also kept our turnovers down and USC got fewer steals off us than in the last game.  Our ball handling, while far from perfect, improved.

On the other hand, giving up 20 O-boards was horrific.  But some of this was poor officiating and allowing countless over-the-backs and pushing and shoving with no consequences.  But we were allowed to do it too, and we did not cheat quite as well as USC did.

It was easy to see that the team has worked on getting Jump open off screens.  She was set up well on quite a few occasions.  Unfortunately, she is only a deadly sharpshooter when she catch-and-shoots from a stationary position.  When she has to move laterally behind a screen and shoot her accuracy is greatly hampered.  Other teams know this.

Nivar has to be a very bright spot in this ugly win.  4/4, and very aggressive at going for O-boards and put backs.  She even had a block.  She got 26 minutes to Lepolo's 17, so Tara thinks she is progressing, quite clearly.  When USC was pressing, Tara had both Lepolo and Nivar in for ball handling.

In the chalk talk, Kate Paye made many insightful comments in respond to a range of questions.  She pointed out that the first time we played USC we had a compressed time to prepare, since we were going from a late Friday game to an early Sunday game.  She also noted that many of the USC players were transfers we had never played against before.  It sounded to me almost as if she was taking responsibility for not producing an adequate scout and preparing the team the first time around, and she did not mince words about how poor our performance was.  But I left that talk thinking that the coaching staff had corrected those issues, we had adequate time, we had played these players before, and I was pretty confident that we would excel tonight.  When I learned that Raya Marshall would not start--and apparently did not make the trip--I thought the possibility of a blowout was real. 

Well, despite the positives on defense, our offense stagnated again against USC.  Well, we did score 4 more points against them, but clearly the USC defense knows how to shut down Jones and keep Brink and Jump in check.  In the first game Lepolo had 9 points, 0 in this game.  Nivar in the first game had 2 points, 9 in this game.  Offense seems to have switched from one guard to the next, but an approximate wash.

Jump first game: 0/5, 0/3 from three point range.  Second game: 2/8 overall, 2/8 from three.

Brink first game: 3/14 for 11 points.  Second game: 4/12 for 12 points.

Jones first game: 3/13 for 8 points.  Second game: 4/14 for 8 points.

Here is an interesting stat.  In the first game we were called for 23 fouls and USC 9.  Second game: Stanford 9 and USC 10.

Point differential from free throws:  First game USC + 9; Second game: USC + 6.  It is unfathomable that given how USC plays defense that they should come out on top in points scored from free throws in both games.

We have 3 more very difficult games in the regular season, then probably a repeat of most of those same games against the same opponents in the Pac 12 tourney.  I fully expect to have to play USC a third time.  While I am disappointed with our lack of offensive progress, the outcome was a whole lot better than last time, and a win is a win.  And after this slugfest, I think I have to believe that WE have the best defense in the Pac-12.  We should be well prepared for Colorado.