WOMEN’S BASKETBALL : Virginia Beats USC, 78-68, for Sweep of the Southland

Virginia sophomore forward Monick Foote had only one good foot to play on in the second half against USC Saturday night.

But despite hobbling on a severely bruised right ankle, Foote scored 10 of her team-high 20 points in the second half, leading Virginia to a 78-68 victory over the Trojans in the Pac-10/ACC Challenge before 895 at Pauley Pavilion.

“I’m not sure how bad I hurt it,” Foote said after No. 6 Virginia improved to 8-2 after a weekend sweep of USC and UCLA. “As long as we were winning it felt fine.”

Virginia Coach Debbie Ryan thinks her team will be fine too, when conference play begins. “We’ve been struggling with our chemistry, so it was real important for us to get it together out on the road. The ACC isn’t nearly as physical as [USC and UCLA] were. We feel good heading into our conference schedule.”

USC (5-3) trailed by only 70-66 with three minutes left.

But a three-point shot by Tora Suber helped the Cavaliers pull away.

“They picked up the tempo in the final three minutes and got some easy baskets,” USC Coach Fred Williams said.

Tina Thompson led the Trojans with 25 points and eight rebounds. Adrain Williams, Erica Jackson and Kristin Clark added 10 points apiece.

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UCLA, which played a poor final 10 minutes in Friday night’s 20-point loss to Virginia, played a strong final 10 minutes Saturday to defeat Maryland, 82-70.

The Bruins (5-4) held a 58-56 lead with 10:14 remaining before going on a 9-0 run to gain a 67-56 advantage with 7:30 left.

Maryland (5-4) got no closer than seven points.

UCLA guard Nickey Hilbert made 10 of 15 shots for a game-high 24 points.