Cheryl Miller Hospitalized--Concussion, Neck Injury

Cheryl Miller, the heart of the USC women’s basketball team, put a scare into her teammates and a Sports Arena crowd of 2,283 Saturday night. Miller, a three-time All American, suffered a concussion and a neck injury near the end of the Trojans’ 89-67 victory over UCLA. It was one time when she was unable to get up from a spectacular fall.

“We are so used to seeing her take falls, then get up,” USC Coach Linda Sharp said, “so it’s a shock to see her lie there.”

Miller was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center by paramedics late Saturday night. A hospital spokeswoman said Miller was in fair condition and was admitted to the hospital for observation. She said that Miller had a concussion and a neck strain and that X-rays were negative. The spokeswoman said Miller was alert in the emergency room.

USC sports information director Elise Kim said Miller was examined in the locker room while the game was still in progress, and tests to determine paralysis were negative. Kim said that Miller had appeared dazed and disoriented and that her parents, Saul and Carrie, and her sister, Tammy, had been in the room with her.

USC’s victory, before 2,283 fans, raised its record to 18-3 overall and 4-0 in the Pac West Conference.

With 5:44 left in the game and USC leading, 78-55, Miller appeared out of control while driving the left lane. She suddenly stopped, spun around and slammed to the floor, face down.

Miller lay motionless for 15 minutes while being attended to by Dr. Richard Diehl, the USC team physician. Miller’s mother, Carrie, knelt beside her daughter before Miller was taken from the floor on a stretcher.

“She was driving, trying to split between two players in a two-on-one situation,” Sharp said. “Cheryl might have been a little out of control. She was off balance.”

Miller, a 6-3 senior, appeared to have collided with UCLA’s Dora Dome.

“She was coming down on the fast break between two of our players,” Dome said. “She had released the ball and was off balance. She hit me in the back. It didn’t feel like that hard of a hit, but I didn’t see what part of her body hit me.”

No foul was called on the play.

Miller, who has a daredevil style of play, has taken a beating this season. She had four stitches applied to her eye after a Jan. 6 game against Louisiana Tech at Ruston, La. She has suffered black eyes several times this season.

USC didn’t lose intensity after play resumed. With Miller gone (she led all scorers with 22 points), USC had three other players in double figures. Rhonda Windham scored 15 points and had 3 assists, Cynthia Cooper had 14 points and 4 assists and Cherie Nelson added 14 points and 8 rebounds.

Windham sparked the Trojans in the first half with 14 points as the 5-5 playmaking junior from the Bronx took more shots than usual.

“I have been looking to shoot a lot lately,” Windham said. “They were giving me some shots. We are going to need that from me when we go into the playoffs.”

While at least one guard was scoring for the Trojans, the Bruins’ Jamie Brown was generating what little offense she could for her team.

UCLA got behind early (the Bruins trailed, 23-10, with 10:28 left in the half) and began forcing shots. The Bruins shot 32% from the field in the first half.

Miller performed some of her usual acrobatics in the the first half. In chasing a loose ball, Miller leaped over own team bench, momentarily took a seat in the stands, then leaped over the scoring table and back onto the court.

The antics of Miller and her teammates gave USC a 47-25 lead at halftime.

The Trojans lengthened that lead in the second half. USC had as much as a 31-point lead, 76-47, in the game.

The Bruins (9-12, 1-3) were led by Dome, who had 16 points. It was one of UCLA’s better offensive nights, with four players in double figures. In addition to Dome, Anne Dean, Shari Biggs and Brown each had 14 points.