USC COMES UP SHORT AGAINST N.D. N.D. 70, USC 61.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Staff Writer

It's a tall order to beat the No. 3-ranked Notre Dame women's basketball team. Even more so when a 6-foot-5 center patrols the lane.

USC's primary challenge Thursday night at the Sports Arena was to get around Ruth Riley. It failed on both sides of the court, and the Irish won 70-61 before 2,178 fans.

The Trojans' (5-5) tallest player is 6-4 Portia Mitchell, who didn't play. So the task of guarding Riley, an All-American senior, fell to 6-3 senior Denise Woods and 6-2 freshman Ebony Hoffman.

Riley got the best of both matchups, scoring 23 points, including 14 in the first half, and taking six rebounds before fouling out with 4:02 to play and Notre Dame (11-0) up by 15.

Notre Dame's usual strategy is to lob the ball into Riley and let her score inside or draw the foul. Most of USC's fouls came from trying to stop her, but she made nine of 11 free throws, including eight of 10 in the first half.

Riley also stymied the Trojans' offense by dominating the lane as part of a 2-3 zone, forcing USC to stay outside.

Unfortunately for the Trojans, they made just 7 of 33 shots in the first half (21.2 percent). And USC didn't score in the paint until Tashara Carter put in an offensive rebound with 3:09 remaining in the first half. They made 20 of 61 field-goal attempts (32.8 percent).

USC didn't do everything poorly. Freshman Aisha Hollans made her first start and provided an early outside-shooting spark, making two 3-pointers in the first 3 1/2 minutes to give the Trojans an early four-point lead. Hollans and Hoffman scored a team-high 11 points.

Hollans also effectively defended Notre Dame sophomore guard Alicia Ratay, who leads the nation in 3-point percentage (.690). Ratay scored 12 points, took no 3-pointers in the first half, and made her only attempt from beyond the arc.

USC's pressure defense gave Notre Dame some problems, leading to 15- first-half turnovers and no first-half points from either starting guard, Ratay or Niele Ivey. Ivey finished with seven points, and Kelley Siemon had six. Both average in double figures.

The defense also helped USC cut a 12-point halftime deficit to three, at 44-41, with 13:57 to play.

But Riley keyed a 15-0 run in 3:29 with five of the first seven points, and the Irish never trailed by less than the final margin of victory. The Trojans went without a field goal for 8:07.