NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT : Leslie Helps Buoy Hopes of the Trojans

The USC women’s basketball team has high aspirations going into the NCAA tournament, and why shouldn’t it?

As Coach Marianne Stanley said, “We’ve come a long way in a short period of time.”

The Trojans, who will play host to Utah in a first-round game tonight at 6 at the Lyon Center, have not been to the tournament since 1988. Last season, they were downright unimpressive, finishing at 8-19.

But they didn’t have 6-foot-5 Lisa Leslie last season. The freshman center has helped turn things around rather nicely. The Trojans have defeated two top-10 teams--No. 7 Texas and No. 9 Washington--en route to a 17-11 record.

“Lisa’s had a tremendous impact,” Stanley said. “But it’s been an overall effort, balanced scoring down the stretch.”

Leslie averages 20 points and 10 rebounds and shouldn’t have too much trouble inside against the Utes, who have only two starters 6 feet or taller.

Leslie, however, tends to try to do too much and has difficulty staying out of foul trouble, managing only 26 1/2 minutes a game.

That could mean a quick exit from a West Regional loaded with talented and experienced teams.

“We need her on the floor every minute she can play,” junior guard Tammy Story said. “She needs to work on not leaving her feet a lot. She intimidates a lot of people and she has to realize she can do that without trying to block a shot, too.”

Leslie, the first freshman to earn first-team All-Pacific 10 honors, blocks nearly three shots a game.

Story, a vastly improved player, is one of four Trojans scoring in double figures. She averages almost 14 points a game. Joni Easterly and Molly Keenan average 11 and 10 points, respectively.

In Utah, the Trojans face a 20-9 team that made the tournament by upsetting Creighton in the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference tournament.

Tanya Zachary is the tallest of the starters at 6-2 and along with the 6-0 Mikki Kane leads the Utes in scoring at just more than 13 points a game. Zachary is strong on the boards, though, averaging better than 10.

The Utes have had four tries--three in the last three years--but have yet to win an NCAA tournament game.

Should the Trojans keep them winless, they will travel to Long Beach Saturday and face the red-hot 49ers.

“We worked real hard to get this far and we don’t want to just be satisfied with getting in,” Story said. “Anybody can beat anyone on any given day, so I think we can do real well in the tournament.”

Regardless, the Trojans have come a long way.

TONIGHT’S GAME: Utah (20-9) at USC (17-11), 6.