USC Women, Off and Running, Defeat BYU in Opener, 102-53

Linda Sharp has been saying she would like to see the USC women’s basketball team score about 90 points a game. Friday night, she got her wish, and more.

In their opening game of the season, USC beat Brigham Young, 102-53, before 1,106 fans at the Sports Arena.

Sharp may have gotten her wish, but BYU Coach Dr. Courtney Leishman was wishing it would all end. “What did we do right?” Leishman said. “Well, we put our uniforms on right. We warmed up pretty well. I knew USC was good, but I didn’t know they were that good. I would have liked to score some more points, but they are just that good.”

Yes, the eighth-ranked Trojans are that good, but the Cougars are young, with no seniors and only one junior; their All-America center, Tresa Spaulding, has practiced six times in the last month, and forward Cathy Nixon, who averages 23 points a game, played only eight minutes before leaving the game with an ankle injury.

Even without those problems, it was doubtful that the Cougars could have come much closer.

BYU simply couldn’t keep up with USC in the first half. Sharp makes no secret of her intention to have her team run at every opportunity. The Cougars responded with a leaky zone defense that enabled Cynthia Cooper and Cheryl Miller to seep through.

Fourteen turnovers in the first half gave the Trojans plenty of chance to fast break. Cooper had four steals in the half.

“I was pleased with our point production,” Sharp said. “I like the fact that we went to the free-throw line as much as we did. We were looking to extend our defense, and I was pleased with our defense tonight.”

Miller scored 33 points and showed that she has been working on her defensive game. She blocked 5 shots, grabbed 13 rebounds and made 3 steals.

Karon Howell scored 17 points, and Cooper had 16. Spaulding led BYU with 16 points and 10 rebounds.