Women’s Basketball : Long Beach and USC Face Top 10 Foes

Southland women’s basketball teams will continue their encounters with the nation’s top 10 as both Cal State Long Beach and USC face tough opponents tonight.

The 49ers (3-2) fell two places in this week’s poll, to ninth, and will play No. 1-ranked Texas at Austin, a difficult task under any conditions but made worse by the crowd noise in Erwin Center.

The Trojans (2-3) dropped out of the top 10 this week and will play host to No. 8 Ohio State tonight in the Campus Gym at 7:30.

The Buckeyes, unbeaten in five games, are a tall, physical team led by forward Nikita Lowry, who is averaging 19.6 points and 7 rebounds a game.

The Trojans are led by Cherie Nelson, who is averaging 17.4 points and 10.8 rebounds.

Added incentive for USC: Ohio State is the team that knocked USC out of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament last season.