On Sunday at 3:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and Varsity Network radio, #2 Stanford women’s basketball will take on USC on the road at the Galen Center. Stanford comes in at 17-3 overall and 8-0 in the Pac-12 while USC comes in at 9-10 overall and 2-7 in the Pac-12.

Last time out: Stanford defeated UCLA 76-48 on Thursday despite Haley Jones and Hannah Jump both not being available. Francesca Belibi led the way for Stanford with 20 points and 13 rebounds, starting in place of Jones.

RECAP: #2 Stanford WBB drubs UCLA at Pauley Pavilion

On USC: The Trojans have a new head coach in Lindsay Gottlieb, who previously was an assistant coach on the Cleveland Cavaliers and head coach at Cal. The Trojans are struggling in Gottlieb’s first year but cannot be taken lightly knowing that she’s their coach. She’s one of the top coaches in the conference and knows how to get the most out of her players.

The Trojans are led by sophomore forward Jordyn Jenkins, who is averaging 14.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. She’s having a solid season and doing all she can to keep the Trojans afloat. The number two scorer on this Trojans team is graduate student forward Jordan Sanders, who is averaging 11.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Sanders missed five games due to a knee injury, but now is back.

As a team, the Trojans average 65.0 points per game on 39.9% shooting from the field, 33.0% shooting from 3-point range, and 74.3% shooting from the foul line. They average 40.6 rebounds, 14.9 assists, 7.2 steals, 6.7 blocks, and 16.2 turnovers per game. They also average a +4.4 rebound margin and a -2.4 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 62.5 points per game on 36.1% shooting from the field, 29.0% shooting from 3-point range, and 72.9% shooting from the foul line.

Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is make some threes. USC does a good job defending the perimeter and not allowing teams to make shots from deep. If Stanford is getting their threes to fall at a healthy clip, it’s going to be tough for USC to pull this one out.

Secondly, Stanford needs to get out to an early lead. USC is on a five game losing streak and can’t be feeling too good knowing Stanford is up next. If Stanford can get off to a strong start and get an early lead, they should be able to suck out any belief USC has. If Stanford is instead off to a rocky start, missing shots, and a bit out of sync, USC just might feel like they have a chance to at least keep this mildly interesting.

Finally, Stanford needs to defend the 3-point line. USC will look to stay in this game by making timely threes. If their threes aren’t falling, they’re almost certain to lose. Stanford needs to defend the perimeter well and not allow USC to get any easy shots to fall from beyond the arc.

Prediction: This one has Stanford written all over it. USC has lost five straight and they’re one of the weakest teams in the league this year. Even if Hannah Jump and Haley Jones are not a go, Stanford should still win with no problem. I got Stanford winning this one by 20 points. 70-50.

To connect with CardinalSportsReport.com on Twitter, click here.

To connect with Ben Parker, click here.