USC Gives Stanford a Surprise

A good portion of the angst and self-doubt that had defined the USC season vanished Sunday.

The Trojans were more than competitive against a top-10 team. They upset fifth-ranked Stanford, 75-72, in a Pacific 10 Conference matchup in front of 608 at the Sports Arena.

In beating Stanford in L.A. for the first time since Jan. 30, 1994, the Trojans (9-11, 4-5) played the kind of basketball Coach Chris Gobrecht has been waiting to see. They hustled to a 49-35 halftime lead, didn’t panic when Stanford came back in the second half to take its only lead, 60-58, with 6:12 to play and outscored the Cardinal, 17-12, down the stretch. It was USC’s third consecutive victory.

Conference leader Stanford received 34 points and 15 rebounds from standout forward Nicole Powell, but the only other Cardinal player in double figures was Chelsea Trotter, with 10 points. The loss ended a 10-game win streak overall and a 28-game win streak in Pac-10 for Stanford (15-2, 7-1). Before Sunday, the Cardinal’s only loss this season was to Tennessee in December.

“It’s a great win, and I’m very happy for our kids considering what they’ve been through,” Gobrecht said. “But I don’t necessarily think we played off the charts. We played the way we were capable of. We started playing smarter in the UCLA game [a 72-64 loss Jan. 12], but we didn’t put in the same intensity then as we did today.”

They did it without starting guard Aisha Hollins, who sprained her right knee Friday against Cal and sat out because of the team doctor’s advice. Rometra Craig led five Trojans in double figures with 19 points, five assists and five rebounds. Her three-point shot with 5:54 remaining gave USC a 61-60 edge, a lead the Trojans didn’t relinquish.

Also lending a hand was forward Meghan Gnekow, who came off the bench to score 12 points. “We knew we all had to do a little extra without Aisha,” Gnekow said. “We’ve started out rough this [season], but we’re pulling things together now.”

-- Mike Terry

California 69, UCLA 61 -- The Bears limited the Bruins to 29% shooting at Pauley Pavilion.

Cal (7-10, 3-5) outscored UCLA (11-7, 6-3), 32-26, in the paint and outrebounded the Bruins, 49-40. Michelle Greco led the Bruins with 23 points, 10 rebounds and five steals, but made only five of 16 shots. Nikki Blue had 17 points.

Nihan Anaz had 17 points to lead four Cal players in double figures. The Bears, who led, 25-22, at halftime, made 55.6% of their second-half shots.UCLA missed seven of its first eight shots to start the second half, and Cal pulled away, 58-40, with 5:40 to play. The Bruins cut it to 62-56 with 1:10 left, but two free throws by Cal’s Kiki Williams ended the UCLA surge.