Oregon State Women’s Basketball: Opponent Preview - USC

The 10th ranked Oregon State Beavers Women’s basketball team looks to take on the USC Trojans in game 17 of the season. Tip-off is slated for 12 PM PST on Sunday, January 13th. You can watch the game on the PAC-12 Network, or check out the team’s Twitter page for other ways to follow along live. Let’s take a closer look at the Trojans.

USC (10-5 overall, 0-4 conference)

Last season: 20-11 overall, 9-9 in PAC-12 (7th), no postseason

USC looks to get back on track after losing five of their last six games, including a 40-point loss to the #5 Oregon Ducks on Friday night. The Women of Troy started the season 9-0 with the possibility of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years on their minds. But then they ran into some quality competition consisting of Texas A&M and four PAC-12 Teams.

Oregon State fans may remember last year’s visit to Galen Center where the Beavers broke down against the Trojans’ pressing defense and gave up a 17-point lead to end their weekend 0-2 in Los Angeles. The Beavers were able to hand the Trojans a late season loss in return back at Gill Colesium.

Head Coach Mark Trakh leads USC Women’s basketball for the second straight year and and his seventh year overall. Trakh will likely take the Trojans back the dance at some point (they should have been in it last year), but it will take a serious turnaround here to get them back into the picture.

Who to watch

#4 - Mariya Moore, Senior Guard

The former Louisville Cardinal and All-ACC guard made her Trojan debut this year after sitting out last season for her transfer. She currently is first on the team for three pointers made (39) and second on the team for points per game (13.4) and assists (52). Her sister, junior guard Minyon Moore, is the Trojan’s leading scorer, but sat out Friday and may not play against the Beavers.

#21 - Aliyah Mazyck, Senior Guard

The All-PAC-12 Defensive Team member, Mazyck, snagged four steals in each of the two contests against the Beavers last season. She is second on the team with 22 on the year and third on the team in points at 12.4 per contest. Her season has been riddled with injuries, playing in just nine of 15 games so far this seasion, and she’s coming off of a 4-of-20 shooting performance.

#5 - Ja’Tavia Tapley, Junior Forward

Tapley is coming off of her best game of the year where she scored 13 points against the fifth ranked Oregon Ducks. The athletic forward could find a favorable matchup against the injury depleted Beavers.

Prediction

USC is one of those athletic teams that can give Oregon State fits on the defensive end, and they have some decent offensive weapons in the Moore Sisters and Mazyck. Considering how the Beavers looked on Friday night in their first true road game of the season (a nice 83-73 win over the UCLA Bruins) and the slide the Trojans are on, I’ll take the Beavers to keep their PAC-12 record perfect for now.