NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : Leslie Helps Keep USC in Balance for Victory

playing with four fouls late in a one-point game--when she brought the spectators at Lyon Center out of their seats and her teammates up another level.

Montana guard Julie Epperly put up a jump shot near the left sideline, and Leslie blocked it--recovering the ball and passing to the fast-breaking Tammy Story, who made an easy layup.

That gave the Trojans a three-point lead with 4:01 remaining, and No. 23-ranked USC went on to a 71-59 victory in a second-round West Regional game before 1,059. The Trojans (22-7), seeded third in the West, will play second-seeded Stephen F. Austin (28-2) in Thursday’s semifinals at Seattle.

Almost everyone agreed that Leslie’s daring move was one reason the Trojans reached the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1988.

“That block and steal by Lisa just kind of motivated everyone in that stretch,” USC Coach Marianne Stanley said.

Said Leslie, who finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds: “That was one of the things that motivated our team. We were just trying to stick together. Then coach gave us the triangle-and-three which really helped. . . . uh, triangle-and-two. That’s the defense that everyone likes to play.”

Stanley and Story teased Leslie, who kept referring to the Trojans’ second-half defense as the triangle-and-three. “We have an invisible player,” said Leslie, laughing at herself.

The real triangle-and-two helped the Trojans subdue Montana’s top scoring threat, senior forward Shannon Cate. Cate, who finished with 26 points, scored 34 during the opening round against Wisconsin and is the Big Sky Conference’s all-time leading scorer. She has been playing with a sore right shoulder, which had been dislocated six times this season. Sunday, it popped out one more time, with 4:57 remaining, when Cate collided with Jualeah Woods in the lane.

Cate left the gym and was back in the game within seconds. For good measure, she even made a three-pointer to pull the Grizzlies within 60-56 with 1:30 to play.

“She (Cate) is the closest thing the women’s game has to Larry Bird,” Stanley said. “She’s just tough. Shannon worked hard for everything she got. You know and I know that this wasn’t her best game, but she was outstanding anyway.

“One-on-one, we found that she is probably one of the most difficult players to defend. When you force her to pick her dribble, she still has another move left. Not too many people have that.”

Cate felt the game slipped away from Montana (23-7) when Leslie and Joni Easterly left the game with four fouls. Easterly went out with 14:23 to play and Leslie picked up her fourth at 12:28. The Trojans were trailing by 38-37 when Leslie left, but still led by 49-48 when Easterly and Leslie returned with 6:45 remaining.

“We just didn’t do that good a job on concentrating on the personnel,” Cate said. “With Leslie out, we should have concentrated more. But they were hurting us from the perimeter.”

Story was able to puncture Montana’s zone more effectively than anyone else, going four-for-11 from three-point range. She led the Trojans with 26 points and stayed steady from the free-throw line, making six of seven.

Easterly, too, was effective on three-pointers, going three for five, and finished with 13 points.