USC Women Play Hilltoppers Today at Sports Arena

USC will meet Western Kentucky in a second-round NCAA women’s basketball tournament game today at 2 in the Sports Arena.

This will be the first meeting between USC (21-7) and Western Kentucky (24-8).

Coach Paul Sanderford, who has a .779 winning percentage in his five years at Western Kentucky, has guided the Hilltoppers to two straight trips to the Final Four.

Western Kentucky is 5-6 on the road this season and has used 13 starting lineups.

“They have a lot of players, and we can’t get confused with that,” USC Coach Linda Sharp said. “We have to concentrate and understand what the different players do when they come in.”

Seven of Western Kentucky’s eight losses were against teams that made the NCAA tournament: Texas, Iowa, Vanderbilt twice, Old Dominion, Southern Illinois and South Alabama.

Western Kentucky is led by senior Clemette Haskins, who has averaged 16.2 points and has become the seventh-leading scorer in school history, men or women.

USC is making its ninth straight postseason appearance, the Hilltoppers their third in a row.