COLLEGE NOTEBOOK: SCHEDULE PAYS OFF FOR CSUN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM.

Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE Staff Writer

The 5-10 record may not be anything to brag about. If anything, the Cal State Northridge women's basketball team would like to put its brutal nonconference schedule behind it as soon as possible.

Coach Staci Shulz is fine with that. She just doesn't want her team to forget any of the lessons it learned.

Saturday afternoon, she got a pretty good assurance that it hadn't, as Northridge pulled off its biggest win of the year, upsetting preseason Big West Conference favorite UC Riverside behind 17 points and 13 rebounds from senior standout LaJoyce King, who recored her fifth double-double in the last eight games.

``When you schedule like that, you worry about their confidence. It's definitely a risk,'' Shulz said. ``But to me, it was all about getting us ready for conference, and now that we're finally getting people back from injuries, hopefully we'll start clicking on all cylinders.

``If we're doing that, we can go nine-deep and my problem becomes getting everyone enough playing time.''

That's a problem Shulz will gladly take compared with the other obstacles her team has faced this year.

Junior center Katie Holloway, the team's top post player, was out a month with a broken finger before returning on Saturday.

Three-time All-Conference forward Ofa Tulikihihifo has taken some time to regain her rhythm after redshirting last season while recovering from a stress fracture in her foot. And then there was the schedule, which featured road games at strong programs like Colorado and BYU and tough home games against nationally-ranked Michigan State and Montana.

After Saturday's big win, Shulz hopes all that is behind her team as it prepares to play four of its next five games on the road.

Trojans bounce back: The USC women's basketball team did a quick repair job on a season that looked to be heading downhill rather quickly before the new year by sweeping Oregon and Oregon State over the weekend.

``It's been challenging to say the least,'' assistant coach Jody Wynn said of her team's injury-plagued season. ``But they're in very good spirits. They're a very close-knit group. People like (former Montclair Prep of Panorama City star) Shay Murphy and Chloe Kerr are definitely on a mission to have a successful season.''

USC (9-7, 3-3) next plays at UCLA (9-9, 3-3) Saturday afternoon at 2.

Also: The UCLA men's tennis team is ranked fourth in the season-opening Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings. Senior Benjamin Kohlloeffel, the reigning NCAA Champion, is ranked fifth in singles. Georgia is the top-ranked team. ... Cal State Northridge women's volleyball announced the signings of Alex Johnson and Brittney Williams. Johnson is a 6-1 outside hitter from Westlake High and a first team Daily News All-Area selection. Williams is a 5-11 outside hitter from Ayala High in Chino.