The Barometer Online

Issue date: 2/2/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Peter Strong Mercedes Fox-Griffin and the Beavers blew a lead late in the second half and fell to USC, 68-65, when the Women of Troy hit a deep 3-pointer with time winding down.

Within a matter of seconds, USC stole a victory from the Beaver women's basketball squad.

It's a 40-minute game, but it took the Women of Troy just a few short seconds to pull out a stunning 68-65 victory, courtesy of Eshaya Murphy's 24-footer as time expired.

"Our kids, they play hard and they fight hard," head coach LaVonda Wagner said. "We made some mistakes in the last 30 seconds, and it cost us the game. Hopefully we learn from this - we grow, we move on, and we go on to the next one."

Before they lost it, the Beavers had the game.

A 16-0 OSU run early in the second half - sparked by a basket from senior guard Casey Nash - gave the Beavers a lead over USC. That run also featured a Jasmine Smith steal and layup that electrified the Gill Coliseum crowd.

USC center Nadia Parker hit a shot to cut OSU's lead to single digits, 54-45. Then the Women of Troy fought back, pulling within two, 60-58.

Beaver fans began to quiet until Nash hit two at the line, prompting Wagner to turn to the crowd with 1:35 left, begging them to make some noise.

With a 62-58 lead, the Beavers seemed to lose their focus. Murphy hit a 3-pointer, OSU guard Ashley Allen got a layup, and USC scored again, narrowing the deficit to two.

With OSU leading 65-63, Beaver forward Judy Lomax stepped to the line for a one-and-one and a chance to seal the win. But Lomax's shot rimmed out, giving Southern Cal the ball with less than a minute to play.

"We've got to make our free throws," Wagner said. "We turned the ball over and gave them an opportunity to score."

Murphy was fouled on her way to the basket with 11.2 seconds to go and hit both free throws to tie the game at 65 apiece. On the following possession Nash was called for a five-second violation, turning the ball back over to USC.

"I should have called a time-out," Nash said. "I thought I had more time. No excuse - I should have called a time-out. We had three left."

The Women of Troy missed the potential game-winning layup, but the rebound kicked out to guard Jamie Hagiya. Hagiya snapped the ball to Murphy, who hit the long three with 2.5 seconds remaining. Nash's desperate attempt as time expired clanged off the left side of the rim, and USC walked away with a 68-65 win.

"They had seniors on the floor, and we had one with a bunch of underclassmen," Wagner said. "They've got to understand that in a game like that, instead of pressure to get the ball to where it needs to be, call a time out and reset. I think they learned their lesson."

Nash led all scorers with 27 points, giving her 1,019 points in her career. Her jump shot that put the Beavers within two, 17-16, made Nash just the 15th player in OSU history to reach 1,000 points in a career.

OSU returns to action Saturday against UCLA at 7 p.m. in Gill.

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