Miller Gets School-Record 40 Points; USC Wins

USC women’s basketball Coach Linda Sharp, who has been stressing the importance of a balanced attack all season, got one Saturday night.

Well, sort of.

Forward Cheryl Miller scored about half of her team’s points against Cal State Fullerton, while her teammates combined for the other half in the Trojans’ 78-61 Western Collegiate Athletic Assn. win in Titan Gym.

Miller finished with a school-record 40 points to break her previous mark of 39, which she set against Northwestern in 1982. The junior made 15 of 26 shots from the floor, 10 of 12 from the free-throw line, and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to help USC (11-4) break its three-game losing streak.

“My motivation for this game was my brother, Reggie,” said Miller, who watched Reggie Miller score 16 points in UCLA’s loss to Arizona Saturday. “He definitely inspired me today.”

Miller must have been equally encouraged when the Titans came out in a straight, woman-to-woman defense. She’s been used to getting double- and triple-teamed this year.

The Trojans spread out their offense and got Miller the ball either down low or near the foul line. Cheryl did the rest.

No matter who was covering Miller, she continued to hit jump shots and convert her drives to the basket. She had 25 points by halftime and had three, three-point plays in the game.

Fullerton actually controlled the early part of the game and led by nine points (26-17) with 7:39 left in the first half. But USC closed the period by outscoring the Titans, 22-7.

Miller had 14 points during the spree, and the Trojans held a 39-33 halftime lead.

Fullerton (2-1 in conference, 11-5 overall) tried a half-court trap in the second half, but it failed to slow the Trojans who were able to maintain at least a 10-point lead throughout.

“We expected Cheryl to score her points,” Fullerton Coach Chris Gobrecht said. “We had no plan to shut her down. We were gonna play her one-on-one and let her do her thing. But some of the other kids started hurting us in the second half.

“We could have double-teamed her and beat her up, like everyone else has been doing, but I don’t approve of those tactics. Her 40 points wouldn’t have beat us. We didn’t play with our usual intensity and desire, and we didn’t play our typical game.”

USC blew an 11-point lead and lost to Old Dominion last Friday night after the Lady Monarchs applied their half-court trap. But Fullerton’s version of the press wasn’t nearly as effective in the second half Saturday.

Trojan guards Rhonda Windham and Yolanda Fletcher were able to penetrate the defense, and USC got several easy baskets from underneath. Fletcher also scored 12 points for eight-ranked USC, which is 1-0 in conference.

“Coach Sharp said if we didn’t handle the half-court trap, we’d have to run,” Miller said. “That was enough motivation. We’ve been working on that in practice, and it still needs a little work, but we handled it tonight.”