A WARM RETURN FOR USC TROJANS WIN IN FIRST TOURNEY GAME IN 8 YEARS USC 65, LOUISVILLE 49.

Byline: Ramona Shelburne  Staff Writer

Last year at this time, Eshaya Murphy was surfing in Hawaii. It was spring break, so like most college freshmen, Murphy headed to the beach.

What she wouldn't have given though, for a plane ticket to snowy Minnesota and a first-round game in the NCAA women's basketball tournament like USC's crosstown rival at UCLA had booked.

``It was hard watching them last year, playing so well against Minnesota and feeling like we could have been there too,'' said Murphy, a sophomore on the USC women's basketball team, who played in high school at Montclair Prep of Panorama City.

This year, despite a coaching change, the graduation of three-time all-conference selection Ebony Hoffman and a roster filled by underclassmen, Murphy and the Trojans got that plane ticket to Minnesota. And Saturday, with a 65-49 victory over over ninth-seeded Louisville in the first round of the NCAA women's tournament, USC made the most of its opportunity.

``We've worked hard all season to accomplish this, but it's still kind of weird that we're actually doing it,'' Murphy said. ``We're one game away from the Sweet 16.''

No. 8 seed USC will play Michigan State, the top seed in the Kansas City Regional, in the second round Monday night in Minneapolis. Michigan State, the Big 10 Conference champion, beat the hometown Minnesota Golden Gophers three times this season, and first-year coach Mark Trakh said he's hoping to woo the hometown fans over to the Trojans' side.

``This is a great atmosphere here,'' said Trakh, who made quite an appearance at Friday's news conference, where he showed up after dyeing his hair blond to fulfill a promise to the team. ``I don't know what I'll do for this game. Maybe I'll pierce my ear if we beat Michigan State, or jump off the high dive at the pool at USC.

``I shouldn't have dyed it blond though, I kept forgetting all the plays.''

There was a time, not so long ago, when a 16-point victory over a team such as Louisville in the first round of the tournament would have seemed like a close game for USC.

With players such as Lisa Leslie, Cheryl Miller and Cynthia Cooper leading they way, USC once was to women's college basketball what Connecticut and Tennessee are today.

In the past decade, however, that glory seemed to dim with each passing year. USC hadn't made the NCAA women's tournament since 1997, hadn't reached the final eight since 1994 and hadn't won a national title since 1984.

During USC's glory days of the 1980s, Trakh was a successful high school coach at Brea Olinda High. He used to take his teams to watch Miller play. Never did he envision that one day, he would be the coach at USC.

On Tuesday morning, things really came full circle for Trakh, when Miller walked into the women's basketball office to wish the team luck.

``That was awesome, she was so gracious,'' Trakh said. ``Our slogan this year has been 'Bring it Back' and that has a double meaning, because we want to bring back the tradition, but we also want to bring back the women who put USC on the map.''

Perhaps because they are so young - 10 of USC's 13 players are underclassmen - the team bought into Trakh's message when outside observers did not. USC was picked to finish seventh in the Pacific-10 Conference by both the coaches and media.

Ramona Shelburne, [phone]

ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, 3 boxes

Photo:

USC guard Camille LeNoir looks for an open teammate while being pressured by Louisville's Jazz Covington, center, and Jessica Huggins, on Saturday.

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

Box:

(1) OTHER GAMES: LATE JUMPER PROPELS RAIDERS

(2) NIT ROUNDUP: AGGIES ESCAPE WITH WIN

(3) 2005 NCAA WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR

SOURCE: NCAA

AP