WOMEN’S BASKETBALL : USC Beats Washington in Key Test

Cheryl Miller got her biggest win as a head coach and Lisa Leslie had one of her best games as USC beat 16th-ranked Washington, 81-70, at USC’s Lyon Center Thursday night.

The victory--which ended a nine-game Washington win streak--put the Trojans alone atop the Pacific 10 standings. USC is 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference. The Huskies dropped to 10-2 and 2-1.

Leslie, the 6-foot-5 senior post player, dominated against what Miller called the best team the Trojans have played this season. Leslie had 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, 20 rebounds, six assists, three blocked shots and five steals.

Washington led for most of the first half, until Leslie’s backup, Michelle Campbell, scored on a follow with two seconds left to give USC a 39-37 halftime lead.

Washington regained the lead only briefly after the break. It reached 50-46 with 12:53 left, but USC’s Jody Anton made three free throws, got a steal and Tina Thompson scored a layup that put USC up by 51-50. The Huskies never led again.

In fact, USC had a 19-point lead after a four-minute, 15-1 burst in the home stretch.

Miller, however, praised Washington’s defense, which produced 27 USC turnovers.

“This was the best team we’ve played; they’re much better than Iowa,” said Miller, whose team lost a controversial, one-point game to second-ranked Iowa last month.

Leslie was all over the court, diving for loose balls and steals--and avoided her customary foul trouble (she had two personals).

“I was determined for once not to get in foul trouble in a big game,” she said. Lorenzo (Orr, the USC men’s team star who is her boyfriend) told me not to try to block the shot of the player I’m guarding, and it worked.”