Cassie Harberts Emerges Stronger Than Ever Despite USC's Miserable Season
Two seasons ago, Southern California’s women’s basketball team came within one win from claiming a WNIT championship.
Only two players remain from that team: Cassie Harberts and Christina Marinacci.
Fast forward more than three years later, and the Women of Troy are struggling mightily. Harberts is far and away the team’s best player, but USC cannot buy a win.
Despite the massive frustrations of a 9-19 season, the long, difficult journey has enabled Harberts to take immense strides in her development as a player and person. The team has relied upon the 6-foot-2 junior much more heavily than anticipated, and the experience has made her stronger than ever.
When Michael Cooper was named USC’s head basketball coach on May 1, 2009, he quickly set his sights on securing Harberts’ presence on his new team. As a high school junior, Harberts had originally committed to USC earlier that spring, but decided to re-open her commitment after Mark Trakh, USC’s former coach, resigned. Read more >>
UC Davis Drains 14 Threes, Extends USC’s Losing Streak to 4
The losing streak extended to four games for the Women of Troy Friday night, and it wasn’t pretty.
The UC Davis Aggies made 14-of-26 three-pointers and managed to hold on for a 78-69 road upset.
“We had some defensive breakdowns that left them open for easy shots,” said USC associate head coach Daron Park, who was filling in for Michael Cooper during his one-game suspension. “They shot the ball extremely well from the three today and really kind of fed off of that.”
USC forward Cassie Harberts attributed the surrendered three-pointers to poor communication: “If we’re in a press, it’s going to be really, really important that we talk out who gets which man.”
“You just have to match up with whoever’s around you, and we didn’t do that.
“We always ran back to our specific player, and that just leaves them wide open shots. Tonight, they knocked them down.”
The Aggies scored 42 of their 78 points (nearly 54 percent of their total output) from beyond the arc. The team’s leading scorers, Cortney French and Sydnee Fipps, combined to convert eight of 12 three-point attempts, and Blair Shinoda and Idit Oryon contributed five additional treys. Read more >>