Sports Briefs

A Mexican Thanksgiving

While everyone else took a nice, relaxing break for Thanksgiving, the USC women's basketball team was hard at work.

After the Women of Troy's 86-71 victory over Drake Wednesday at the Lyon Center the team was off to Mexico for the Cancun Basketball Tournament, where it faced No. 9 Old Dominion and Southwest Missouri State.

Against Drake, guards Kristin Clark and Tiffany Elmore bombarded the opposition with 24 points each.

On Friday, though, Old Dominion (4-0) proved to be too much for the Women of Troy (3-2), as USC lost, 73-61. The Monarchs stayed in control the whole game, never falling behind.

USC shot only 30 percent from the field in the first half, compared to the Monarchs' 51.9 shooting percentage.

Natalie Diaz was the high scorer for Old Dominion with 16 points, while senior Adrain Williams led the Women of Troy with 17.

There was no bouncing back the next day as Jackie Stiles' 34 points lifted Southwest Missouri (3-1) over USC, 80-69.

The Women of Troy trailed only 36-35 at halftime, but the team hurt itself in the second half by shooting only 4 of 11 from the free-throw line.

- Jenn Javier

Women of Troy get second

The USC women's volleyball team captured second place at the Bankers Classic this past weekend, as it fell to Pacific, 5-15, 15-9, 13-15, 15-8, 16-14, in the finals.

Senior outside hitter Jennifer Kessy had 29 kills and 21 digs against Pacific while senior middle blocker Jasmina Marinkovic added 29 kills and 11 digs of her own.

Both Kessy and Marinkovic received All-Tournament first team honors for their play throughout the tournament.

Despite the loss, six players were in double figures in digs. As a team, the Women of Troy totaled 104.

USC outhit Pacific as well, collecting 114 kills to Pacific's 89. The Women of Troy had a .296 hitting percentage while Pacific had a .289 hitting percentage.

In the first round of the Bankers Classic, USC opened up with a three-game victory against Houston, 15-11, 15-11, 15-8. Marinkovic had 28 kills and five blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Janae Henry had 10 kills.

- Aarne Heikkila

Lindner wins at Invitational

The USC men's and women's diving teams continued their great showing at the Trojan Diving Invitational on Friday and Saturday at McDonald's Swim Stadium.

During the women's 1-meter springboard on Friday, USC senior Dórte Lindner came in first with a score of 435.15 points, and freshman teammate Kellie Brennan was second with 397.25 points. For the men's 3-meter, USC sophomore Justin Dumais finished second with 610.65 points.

On Saturday, the last day of the invitational, USC divers fared well in their first platform competition of the season. Dumais had a team-record score of 639.50 points that put him in first place. Right behind him was his brother, Troy Dumais, a freshman at Texas, with 570.05 points. USC junior Caryn Dollar came in second in the women's platform with 319.25 points.

After the invitational, USC Head Diving Coach Jeff Shaffer said he knows where the team stands compared to other schools. "I'm very pleased with our position," he said. "Justin is the leader by far in the Pac-10, and Dórte is the person to beat on the springboard."

Next weekend, several USC divers will compete in the U.S. Diving Invitational in Mission Viejo.