BERKELEY – Coming off its first conference win of the season, the Cal women's basketball team looks to keep its momentum going in Berkeley, hosting USC at 7 p.m. PT on Friday at Haas Pavilion. The Golden Bears (9-12, 1-9 Pac-12) snapped their nine-game skid on Sunday with a thrilling 81-74 victory at Washington. Cal withstood a frantic fourth-quarter comeback by the Huskies before a dominant showing in the overtime period.

The Bears now return to Berkeley for their lone regular season matchup with the Trojans (11-10, 3-7 Pac-12), who head to the Bay looking to snap a two-game losing streak. Cal and USC met twice last season, with each team winning on its home court. Then-juniors CJ West and Jaelyn Brown combined for 14 points in the most recent meeting between the teams, an 86-76 victory for USC at the Galen Center.

Heading into Friday's matchup at Haas Pavilion, the Bears will look for another strong outing from their veterans. West, Brown, and junior forward Alaysia Styles combined for 58 points in Sunday's overtime win at Washington, led by a career-high 22 points from West. A senior center from Bakersfield, West added nine rebounds and went 9-14 from the floor in the first 20-point outing of her collegiate career. West leads the Bears in both rebounding (7.1 rebounds per game) and field goal percentage (51.3 percent) this season.

The Bears' leading scorer at 14.1 points per game and their lone returner from last season, Brown recorded her third double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Huskies. Styles had a highly-producitve outing of her own, scoring 17 points on an 8-11 shooting performance during which she went perfect from the floor in the second half and overtime.

Along with the contributions from their returners, Cal's freshman quartet of Cailyn Crocker, Jazlen Green, Evelien Lutje Schipholt, and Leilani McIntosh has been highly-impactful this season. McIntosh – who has started all 21 games at point guard – grabbed a career-high eight rebounds on Sunday in Seattle, while also adding six points and matching her career-best with eight assists. Green and Lutje Schipholt combined for 17 points and 7 rebounds off the bench, while playing significant minutes in the victory.

USC features several standout freshmen of its own, including forward Alissa Pili, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday's game against USC will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks with Kate Scott and Monique Billings on the call. The matchup will be live streamed on the Pac-12 app with live stats also available. Fans can receive additional in-game updates and behind-the-scenes information by following the Bears social media accounts (Twitter: @CalWBBall, Instagram: @CalWBBall).

SCOUTING THE TROJANS
USC heads to the Bay looking to bounce back from a pair of hard-fought losses last weekend in Arizona. The Trojans opened the weekend with a triple-overtime loss last Friday at No. 19 Arizona State, before falling to No. 16 Arizona, 73-57, their last time out. The Trojans cut a 14-point deficit to four entering the fourth quarter in Tucson, but were unable to complete the comeback. Pili led all scorers with 21 points, following up and 18-point, 7-rebound effort in Friday's loss to the Sun Devils. Fellow rookie Endyia Rogers had 30 points of her own in the triple-overtime loss.

A two-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honoree, Pili leads USC and ranks 11^th in the conference in scoring at 14.4 points per game. Pili is tied for fourth in the conference in rebounding with 8.4 rebounds per game and also ranks in the top-10 in field goal percentage (49.4%). Rogers, another standout freshman for the Trojans, is also averaging double-figures with 13.1 points per game.

USC dropped five in a row to open Pac-12 play before picking up its first win of the season in double-overtime against rival UCLA. The Trojans beat the 7^th-ranked Bruins, 70-68, at the Galen Center, handing UCLA its first loss of the season. Following the victory over the Bruins, USC rattled off wins over Washington and Washington State before last weekend's losses in Arizona.

USC had struggled at times on the offensive end of the floor, ranking last in the conference in points per game and 11^th in both field goal and three-point percentage. However, the Trojans have made up for it with strong defensive play, and rank fourth in the conference in field goal percentage defense and opponent three-point percentage.

Head coach Mark Trakh is in his third season back with the Trojans and eighth season overall at USC. Trakh returns just one starter and three letterwinners from last season's team that went 17-13 and finished ninth in the Pac-12.  The Trojans were picked eighth in the 2019-20 Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll.

UP NEXT
The Bears continue their homestand on Sunday, hosting #10 UCLA (19-2, 8-2 Pac-12) at 2 p.m. PT. UCLA has won the last five head-to-head meetings with Cal, including an 84-79 overtime victory last season at Haas. The last three meetings between Cal and UCLA have each been decided by six points of fewer. Sunday's game against the 10th-ranked Bruins marks Cal's eight game of the season against a ranked opponent and its sixth against at Top-10 team. UCLA opens the weekend taking on #6 Stanford at 8 p.m. PT Friday on the Farm.

2019-20 TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW
Season, group and single-game tickets for the 2019-20 women's basketball season are now on sale. Season tickets start as low as $40 ($2.67 per game, 15 home games) for youth and seniors and $80 ($5.33 per game, 15 home games) for adult general admission tickets. Single-game tickets are available starting at $4 for youth and seniors and $5 for adult, while group rates begin at $3 per seat for groups of 10 or more. Flex and partial plans are also available for purchase. For more information, call the Gold Standard Sales and Service line at (800) GO BEARS (462-3277) or visit the CalBears.com ticket page.

STAY POSTED
Keep up-to-date on the latest Cal women's basketball news by following the Bears on social media. View behind-the-scenes photos and videos and learn more about Cal and its student-athletes on Twitter (@CalWBball), Instagram (@CalWBball) and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWBball).