Visitors from SoCal

UCLA and USC are coming to Maples for another go at Stanford. Their goal on this trip to the Bay Area is to take exclusive possession of the #2 spot in the Pac-10.

UCLA Bruins

In our first meeting this season, the Bruins' defense almost did in the Cardinal, but we held on and won in the last two minutes thanks to Nneka's and Ros's free throws.

Since then, the Bruins have lost to USC at the Galen Center, won on the road by very small margins against Washington and Washington State, then came home and walloped Oregon 104-80 and Oregon State 70-44.

They still lead the Pac-10 in scoring defense, allowing their opponents just 56.5 points per game.

Freshman Markel Walker and Rutgers-transfer Jasmine Dixon still lead the Bruins in scoring and rebounding. Dixon has overtaken Walker as the top scorer with 14.3 points per game. Walker had double-doubles in the Oregon games last week and was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week, but she has been inconsistent in her contributions to the Bruins' success.

UCLA's win-loss record (14-6 overall, 7-2 conference) ties them with USC for 2nd place in the Pac-10. Their RPI (34) and their strength of schedule (27) place them 3rd.

Here are their 2009-10 statistics and their roster.

USC Trojans

The Cardinal dominated the Trojans in the paint in their first game this season. Kayla and Nneka each scored a double-double, and Jayne was one rebound short of another. It was our best 40 minutes of the conference season.

The Trojans went on a 5-0 run after that with victories over Cal, UCLA, Washington, Washington State and Oregon State. Then last week, they lost to Oregon at home.

The Trojans' biggest strength is their perimeter shooting. They average 6.9 three-pointers per game (second only to Oregon) and lead the Pac-10 in three-point percentage (38.4).

Ashley Corral continues to lead the Trojans in scoring – points per game (16.7), three-pointers (2.9) and free throws (84.2%). She also leads the Pac-10 in assists (five per game).

Briana Gilbreath scores the second-most points (13.9), has the most rebounds (6.2) and leads the Pac-10 in blocks (1.9 per game).

An unknown factor is Jacki Gemelos, the number one recruit in the nation in 2006, who is expected to play her first college game on Thursday night at Haas Pavilion. You can read more about Gemelos here.

USC is unranked in the national polls but is receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll.

Their win-loss record (13-7 overall, 7-2 conference) ties them with UCLA for 2nd place in the Pac-10. Their RPI (22) and their strength of schedule (8) place them 2nd.

Here are their 2009-10 statistics and their roster.