USC Falls to Oregon State, 78-68

The “do not disturb� sign was out on the USC women’s locker room at the Sports Arena again Friday night.

USC rallied twice from big deficits, only to have Oregon State score the final six points and win, 78-68, before 583.

When Coach Chris Gobrecht finally emerged from the locker room she spoke of the shaken confidence of a team that has lost five of six games.

“When your confidence is high, little things don’t bother you,� Gobrecht said. “Now, this group is not weathering the missed layups and the bad calls.�

The play of the USC point guards is also a concern. Gobrecht gave three players double-digit minutes at the position against Oregon State and none could effectively run the offense. Freshman Ryane Alexander started, then was replaced by another freshman, Jessica Cheeks, and finally junior Camille Norwood came in. They had a combined three assists.

USC, 9-14 overall and 4-9 in the Pacific 10 Conference, fell behind 25-13 but Aisha Hollans and Ebony Hoffman led a charge that cut the deficit to 39-37.

Oregon State (13-11, 5-9) took its biggest lead at 68-55 before USC mounted one last charge, getting within 72-68 on Alexander’s three-point basket with 2:26 to go.

Oregon State, however, masterfully managed the shot clock from that point. It ran 25 seconds off the shot clock on one set and had another possession that lasted 29 seconds, capped by an inside basket by 6-foot-5 freshman Brina Chaney. That basket, with 55 seconds left, gave Oregon State a 76-68 lead.

Oregon State’s 6-foot sophomore Nicole Funn--a player Gobrecht recruited out of Carson--scored a game-high 22, many on artful drives through the key.