Los Angeles, California – No. 10 University of Southern California defeated the Le Moyne women's basketball team on Monday evening at the Galen Center.
The Trojans led by a score of 46-20 at halftime, then they shot 12-18 from the field during a 30-point third quarter.
Le Moyne shot 2-10 from beyond the three-point line during the setback.
Fifth-year senior guard
Lytoya Baker (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney), who was named
NEC Player of the Week on Monday afternoon, led the Dolphins in scoring and rebounding with 14 points and seven boards to go along with a steal, a block and an assist in 32 minutes played. With 555 career boards, Baker is now tied for 15
th all-time among Le Moyne players in career rebounds.
Le Moyne graduate guard
Sydney Lusher (Oneida, N.Y./Oneida) tallied nine points and two steals, while sophomore guard
Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) registered seven points and three rebounds.
Sophomore guard
Kaia Goode (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) recorded two assists and a team-high three steals, and junior forward
Brianna Williams (Brampton, Ontario/Southwest Academy/Hartford) provided four points, three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
Graduate forward
Kaitlyn Walker (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee/Onondaga C.C./St. John Fisher) made her Le Moyne debut during the non-conference matchup.
USC freshman guard JuJu Watkins led the Trojans with 35 points, nine rebounds and six steals. Watkins, who tallied 32 points in her collegiate debut against previously sixth-ranked Ohio State, shot 6-8 from beyond the three-point line against the Dolphins.
Junior forward Rayah Marshall was second on the Trojans in scoring with 12 points to go along with seven rebounds and two assists.
Redshirt-sophomore guard Taylor Bigby also scored in double figures for USC with 10 points, three assists and three rebounds. Graduate guard/forward McKenzie Forbes provided a team-high five assists.
Baker scored eight points in the final 10 minutes as the Dolphins were narrowly outscored by the Trojans in the fourth quarter, 17-14.
The Dolphins have now played four games in the last eight days, including two games against teams currently ranked in the top 10 in the AP Top 25 Poll.
"Obviously it's a really unique opportunity [to play at USC]," said Le Moyne assistant coach
Terence Mannion. "Before I go on I want to send out best wishes to our head coach
Mary Grimes. None of us would be here if it weren't for her. None of us would be here if she weren't willing to take on this daunting task of going through four very difficult games [to begin the season] for a team transitioning to Division I. I will say, at the end of the game we're just really proud of our players. They could have given up, but we fought right to the end and I thought they did a really good job finishing off this four-game gauntlet," Mannion added.
"It's difficult to pick any one player out. They played so hard, all of them… They give you everything, this team gives you everything they've got every time they step on the court.
"I can't imagine there is a team in the country with tougher schedule than ours [through four games]. This has been a really daunting task and they've stepped up to the plate… They've fought hard every single time they've gone out on the court. I tell them all the time, every second is precious. We're trying to gain experience for all our players for the rest of the season, especially when we get into conference play," said Mannion
The Trojans scored the first 11 points of the contest, then the Dolphins got on the board at the 4:39 mark of the first period when Linnin gave a pump fake to her defender on the perimeter then swished a three-point attempt just before the shot clock expired. The three was Le Moyne's first second chance points of the game, as Florvil grabbed an offensive rebound during the possession.
The Trojans benefited from 21 second chance points during the contest, compared to nine for Le Moyne.
Watkins knocked down a three pointer at the other end for USC to put the Trojans back up by 11.
With just under two minutes remaining in the first half, Goode used a screen from Roberts on the left wing, drew the attention of two defenders, then sent a pass to sophomore guard
Michelina Lombardi (Wynantskill, N.Y./Averill Park) in the left corner. Lombardi quickly sent a bounce pass to Roberts as she rolled towards the block, then Roberts drew a foul on her layup attempt and sank two free throws to make it 16-7 in favor of the home team.
USC held a 21-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Watkins found Marshall for a fastbreak layup with 7:41 remaining in the second to make it a 20-point game.
Linnin drove to the basket, drew a foul and made two free throws at the 6:49 mark, then Lusher came up with a steal during the next possession, pushed the ball up the floor, missed a jumper in the paint but grabbed her own rebound and converted a layup to trim the deficit back to 16 points.
During the next USC possession, Watkins knocked down a triple from straight on, drew a foul on the shot and converted the four-point play.
Baker drove to the basket and banked home a runner at the 2:15 mark, then Linnin and Williams each scored a field goal for Le Moyne within the final 1:30 of the second quarter, but the Trojans ended the half on a mini 5-0 run to take a 26-point lead after 20 minutes of action.
The Dolphins created a second-chance opportunity with just over seven minutes remaining in the third, which led to a midrange jumper for Lusher.
The Dolphins suffered a scoring drought following Lusher's bucket as the Trojans increased their lead with a 21-0 run.
Goode ended the run for Le Moyne by converting a floater in the lane on a fast break with under 30 seconds left in the third period.
The Dolphins shot above 85% from the free-throw line for the second consecutive game after making 12 of their 14 attempts against USC.
Le Moyne tied its season-high of 10 steals and forced the Trojans into 15 turnovers.
The Dolphins (0-4) will return to action on Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. non-conference game at University of Massachusetts Lowell.
