Women’s Roundup : A Tired Nelson Takes Control as USC Beats Oregon, 66-64

Forward Cherie Nelson, taking control during a second-half run when she twice asked to come out of the game, scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the USC women’s basketball team past Oregon, 66-64, in a Pacific 10 Conference game Saturday night at the Sports Arena.

“She was real tired during that stretch,” USC Coach Linda Sharp said after the Trojans improved to 11-4 overall and 5-1 in conference play. “We had two timeouts and she asked to come out both times, but they (Oregon) had 6-5 and 6-7 (players) on the floor, so she had to play. She had to gut it out, and she did.”

It was the sixth straight game in which Nelson, a 6-foot 3-inch sophomore from Altadena, led USC in rebounds, and the third time in the last four outings she was tops in scoring. Eighteen of her points Saturday came in the second half, when she made 8 of 13 shots from the field.

Gabi Neumann, a 6-5 center from West Germany, had 22 points to lead Oregon (9-4 and 3-2). The Ducks were tied with Washington for the conference lead earlier in the week but have since lost to UCLA and USC on the road.

CS Long Beach 114, Fresno State 70--The 49ers breezed to the win in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game at home after shooting 59.5% (28 of 47) in the first half, and had one lead of 50 points, 111-61, with 3:17 left in the game.

Forward Cindy Brown hit 15 of 21 shots from the field to finish with a game-high 34 points and 12 rebounds as Long Beach (14-1 and 5-0) won its 14th straight. Guard Penny Toler, coming off a 36-point effort Wednesday night against Louisiana Tech, added 24 and guard Margaret Mohr had 12.

Forward Yvette Roberts had 19 points and 9 rebounds to lead Fresno State, which shot just 35.5%. The Bulldogs are 11-3 and 4-2.

Oregon State 74, UCLA 69--Guard Monica Raspberry, a junior from Morningside High School in Inglewood, scored all 15 of her points in the final 14:22 to lead the Beavers in a Pac-10 game at Pauley Pavilion, snapping the Bruins’ five-game winning streak.

Forward Althea Ford had 17 points and 17 rebounds to lead UCLA (10-5 and 4-2). Oregon State is 12-3 and 3-2.