USC Women Look to Tournament to End a Late-Season Tailspin

USC (18-9) and Memphis (21-7), women’s basketball teams that ended the regular season with losses, play in a first-round NCAA tournament game tonight at Vanderbilt.

Cheryl Miller’s Trojans, after winning the Pacific 10 championship last season and making it to the final eight in the tournament, came in fifth (10-8) this year, finishing with losses last weekend at the Oregon schools. USC has lost three of its last five.

Memphis won five in a row before falling in the championship game of the Great Midwest Conference tournament last Saturday to Marquette, 102-99.

Marquette is one of two common opponents for these two. USC beat the Golden Eagles in its season opener. Also, in December, both schools beat Stephen F. Austin.

The winner faces the winner of tonight’s Vanderbilt (26-6)-Northern Illinois (17-13) game on Sunday. And that winner advances to the West Regional at UCLA next weekend.