Jan. 21, 2006

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. -- Camille LeNoir scored a career-high 27 points and went 11-of-12 from the free-throw line in the second half for the USC women's basketball team in a 73-70 win over visiting UCLA on Saturday at the Sports Arena. It was the fourth straight game between the Trojans and Bruins that has been decided by four or fewer points. The Women of Troy have now won five straight games to improve to 13-5 overall and 7-2 in Pac-10 play. UCLA moves to 10-8, 5-4.

LeNoir led all scorers with her 27-point outing, and UCLA was led by Noelle Quinn with 21 points and nine rebounds. Nikki Blue added 19 points for UCLA, and Lindsey Pluimer had 11 points.

The Trojans clawed out of an 11-2 hole early in the game thanks in part to four 3-pointers from Eshaya Murphy, who notched her 12th consecutive game in double figures. She also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in the win. USC led 40-32 by halftime, and then USC ballooned the lead with an 8-0 run.

USC led by as much as 16 points in the second half, but the UCLA defensive pressure turned up and the Bruins battled back to make it as tight as a two-point game in the final minute. LeNoir got to the free-throw line for 12 shots in the second half and knocked down 11 of those on the way to a 22-point second half to help keep USC a step ahead. With five seconds left, LeNoir missed the first but nailed the second to secure USC's 73-70 victory.

USC attracted a history-making crowd to the Sports Arena. The cross-town rivalry game brought in an attendance of 8,667, which ranks No. 1 all-time as the top crowd to attend a single game at the Sports Arena. The last high mark was set in 1982 with a crowd of 8,641 against Rutgers. The USC-UCLA game last season at the Sports Arena pulled in 5,222 fans.