WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : A Story Behind USC’s 74-67 Victory

When USC guard Tammy Story picked up her fourth foul with 13:39 remaining--an eternity in basketball time--there was a pressing question. Should she stay or should she go?

Trojan Coach Marianne Stanley didn’t even need to take a vote.

“When she picked up the fourth, I turned to my staff on the bench and we were all comfortable leaving her in there,” said Stanley.

Story told a different story.

“No, I asked them to keep me in,” she said. “It just takes smarts to play with four fouls. You just can’t do the same stuff you do with one foul.”

Their mutual gamble paid off as Story managed to walk the fine line, finishing with 23 points in USC’s 74-67 victory over 13th-ranked Washington on Sunday at Lyon Center before 635.

USC (12-5 overall, 5-2 and tied for second place in the Pacific 10 Conference), has won four consecutive games since losing back-to-back conference games in the Bay Area two weeks ago.

For Washington (12-6, 4-4), it was the culmination of a lost weekend in Los Angeles as the Huskies opened on Friday with 31-point loss to UCLA.

After that, anything was an improvement.

“That wasn’t hard,” Washington Coach Chris Gobrecht said. “If we had come out and just circled the gym, our effort would have been better than it was Friday.”

The only time the Huskies seriously threatened the Trojans was when Story sat out during the final minute of the first half. Washington whittled USC’s seven-point lead to two at halftime.

The Trojans also were without Lisa Leslie, who finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, for almost the final 12 minutes of the first half because of a sprained right ankle.

But Gobrecht said Story’s brief absence hurt the Trojans more.

“They have so much more confidence with her on the floor,” said Gobrecht. “When she was out, that was what partly lead to our comeback at the end of the first half. They play so much better with her.”

But this has been a recent development. Story, who was all Pac-10 last season, sat out two weeks this season because of a knee injury and has been struggling ever since. The coaching staff held a morale-boosting meeting with her after the losses to California and Stanford.

Friday, Story scored five points in overtime to help beat Washington State. And she started quickly on Sunday with 14 points in the first half, including a three-pointer at 8:31 to put her make her USC’s 11th player to score 1,000 points.

“It’s basically been (improving) the last two, three games,” Story said. “It’s really been a mental thing. I know I have the physical ability. I just have to have the mental ability to let it all out.”

Said Stanley: “She’s responded and played well, and I knew the old Tammy was back.”

UCLA reserve forward Amy Jalewalia scored three points in the final minute of overtime to give the Bruins an 80-75 victory over Washington State at Pauley Pavilion.

The Bruins (11-6, 4-3) also got key performances from senior guard Rehema Stephens, who scored 33 points, and a career high 31 from sophomore forward Natalie Williams.

Darci Wellsandt and Camille Thompson each scored 18 points for Washington State (10-7, 3-5).