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March 20, 2006
Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - Chloe Kerr blocked a shot by South Florida's Jessica Dickson with 16 seconds to play Sunday night and Camille LeNoir made two free throws in the last 12 seconds as USC survived the first round of the NCAA tournament, 67-65.
The Women of Troy (19-11) advanced to a game against No. 4 Duke on Tuesday night in the Bridgeport Regional. The top-seeded Blue Devils beat Southern 96-27.
Shantia Grace had a chance to tie it for the Bulls (19-12) with 4.8 seconds left, but she missed the first of two free throws. After she made the second, LeNoir was fouled with 4.1 seconds left, and she made one of two from the line to clinch the win.
Grace's desperate heave at the buzzer wasn't even close.
Southern Cal was 13-for-16 from the line in the second half, when the lead was swapped 10 times. Eshaya Murphy provided the last change, giving the Women of Troy a 65-64 lead by making both ends of a one-and-one with 25.3 seconds remaining.
Then with Dickson driving to put the Bulls back ahead, Kerr blocked the shot, tying up the ball and getting the Women of Troy the ball back on the possession arrow.
Murphy had 21 points, LeNoir 17 and Kerr 16, 14 rebounds and five blocks for Southern Cal, the No. 8 seed. Dickson led the ninth-seeded Bulls with 18 points in their first appearance in the NCAA tournament. Grace added 17 and Ezria Parsons had 13.
All the second half lead changes came in the final 11:37, starting when Kerr made a pair of free throws in an 11-0 run that ended with Southern Cal leading 51-47.
Neither team led by more than four the rest of the way.
South Florida had run off seven straight points to lead 47-40 with 14:25 left. Shantia Grace had a 3-pointer in the burst, and Parsons' three-point play capped it.
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Then the Women of Troy rallied, and the see-saw battle went to the finish.
The Bulls led 33-32 at halftime, used a 7-2 run to start the second half to lead 40-34, then saw the Women of Troy reply with three consecutive baskets to pull even.
USC GAME NOTES:
Chloe Kerr had her fourth season double-double with 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
This was Eshaya Murphy's 24th consecutive game in double figures and 13th game with 20 or more points. This was her 21st time as USC's leading scorer.
Murphy becomes USC's all-time top 3-point shooter with 111 career threes.
Meghan Gnekow had a career-high three blocks.
Kerr had a career-high five blocks.
Allison Jaskowiak had a career-high four assists.
USC faces top-seeded Duke (27-3) at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday (March 21) in Norfolk, Va.
NCAA First Round Press Conference Quotes
Norfolk, Va.
March 19, 2006
Mark Trakh, USC Head Coach:
Opening Statement
"It was a great game, both teams played very well. Both teams hit big shots. Luckily though, we won the game by two. It was definitely a well played game. Both teams played well on the defensive end. I'm proud of my team, we won a lot of close games this year. A couple of kids stepped up again. They played hard, have a lot of heart, and a lot of desire. It was just a great game and I am happy that we were two points better."
On South Florida's performance
"They play hard, they made some big shots. I thought they played very, very well. They were extremely well coached, and their kids played really hard. It was just one of those games where they showed a lot of heart. The impressive thing about them is that their kids stepped up and made a lot of shots, and made some big free throws."
On goals for the next game against Duke
"I was watching the Duke game, and I've seen them play before, and they are just incredible. They are huge, extremely skilled, and very well coached. But we have nothing to lose. We just need to go out and play hard, whether we win or lose, as long as the kids play hard that's all I can ask. If the scoreboard says we lost the game, and we gave 100%, that's all I can ask for."
Eshaya Murphy, Junior Guard:
On mindset at the free throw line
"I wasn't really thinking about anything. My mind was clear; there was no pressure."
Meghan Gnekow Senior Guard
On emotionally preparing for the game
"We've had a lot of injuries throughout the season. Everyone has been doubting us and we just go out there with nothing to lose. We all want to stay here and win, and just prove everyone wrong. We're really looking forward to this game on Tuesday. We know its going to be a tough one, but we're ready. We have so much heart on this team, and we just don't want it to be over."
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Jose Fernandez, USF Head Coach:
Opening Statement
"This was definitely one of the better games in the tournament. The selection committee did a great job with the seeding. Both teams have a very good basketball team, and we made some great plays right up until the end. On the stat sheet, turnovers and rebounds are pretty even down the line."
On South Florida's performance:
"Two things we really talked about was taking care of the ball and rebounding. We could have done a better job of both of those things. That was the difference. Eshaya Murphy and Camille LeNoir were going to get theirs. They are very good perimeter kids. Now we have set the standard for our program; we got here. Now its expected every year."
Jessica Dickson, Junior Forward:
On her team stepping up when she was in foul trouble "In the first half, I got into some foul trouble early so I had to sit down, but my teammates did step up, and that shows me their character and how bad they wanted this."
On being in NCAA tournament for first time
"It was a great experience and we made history. We are very proud to have made it here, and this is a great group of girls. We graduate two girls, and we are going to come back next year and work."
