USC, Minus Cheryl Miller, to Play Aztecs

Now the shoe is on the other foot.

A year ago, when the San Diego State women’s basketball team traveled to Los Angeles to play USC, its top player, forward Tina Hutchinson, was troubled with a knee injury. Hutchinson played only five minutes and did not score but the Aztecs still won, 61-59.

At 7:30 tonight, when USC (18-3) plays the Aztecs in Peterson Gym, it will be the Trojans who play without their top player. All-America forward Cheryl Miller, who suffered a concussion and a strained neck Saturday night against UCLA, will not play for the Trojans.

USC, ranked No. 7 in the country, still has some firepower, however. Guard Cynthia Cooper is averaging 17.9 points per game and point guard Rhona Windham is scoring 8.9. Up front, Holly Ford and Cherie Nelson will team with Karon Howell, who is replacing Miller. Howell is averaging 7.0 points per game whereas Miller was scoring at a 26.5 pace before her injury.

The Aztecs, meanwhile, are playing well of late. SDSU (11-8) has won five straight games thanks to its high-scoring threesome of Jessica Haynes (16.0), Shelda Arceneaux (15.8) and Dee Dee Duncan (15.2). Arceneaux has been especially hot recently, averaging 21.8 points a game in her last five outings shooting 70% from the field.

SDSU is 8-0 at home so far this season, but the Trojans beat the Aztecs in Peterson Gym last year, 90-77. That game came as a bit of redemption for USC, which earlier had lost to the Aztecs without Hutchinson.