Dome Scores 26, but USC Women Win, 67-56

You’ve heard the saying: “The team with the ball last will win this game.”

When USC and UCLA met in a Pacific 10 Conference women’s basketball game Friday night, it was more like: “The team that goes cold last will lose .”

That’s the kind of night it was Friday, when the 18th-ranked Trojans beat their cross-town rivals, 67-56, before a crowd of 1,728 at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA led, 18-17, before USC went on a 16-4 run to take the lead, 33-22. The Trojans (9-3 overall and 3-0 in the Pac-10) pushed it to 41-28 at halftime, but the Bruins went on a 8-0 streak to start the second half to pull back into contention, 41-36.

UCLA (9-6 and 2-1) trailed by two at 46-44, before USC rattled off a 17-4 surge to take control once and for all, 63-48, with 2:06 left.

In the second half, it was left to USC to outlast UCLA forward Dora Dome, who had 18 of her team’s 28 points and 2 assists in the final 20 minutes. She finished with a game-high 26 points.

The end result for the up-and-down offenses: USC shot 35.8% from the field and UCLA hit 39.7%.

This was not a good night to be a coach, even a winning one.

Asked if she was pleased with her team’s performance, USC Coach Linda Sharp said without hesitation: “No. I mean, it’s a win. I’m happy with the win, and its a big win in conference.”

Said Billie Moore of UCLA, noting that, except for Dome, the Bruins suddenly turn tentative when they get the ball: “It’s rather frustrating and discouraging when the other ballplayers in a big game don’t have the confidence and the maturity that it takes.”

Or, to put it another way: “On a scale of 1 to 10, Dora was a 9 and the rest of the team was about a 1.”

No one could stop Dome in the second half, when she took control of the offense like few in the Pac-10 can. After intermission, she hit 8 of 11 shots from the floor. It was especially frustrating to Sharp, who had cautioned the Trojans against just that at halftime.

Cherie Nelson, No. 1 in the conference in scoring and rebounding, led USC with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Three other Trojans had 12 points--Karon Howell, Kalen Wright and Paula Pyers--and Pyers also had 7 steals.

The win kept USC tied with Stanford for first place in conference, with Washington a half-game back. The Trojans don’t meet the Cardinal until a home-and-home series March 5 and 11.