USC women bludgeon Fresno State behind do-it-all center Rayah Marshall

LOS ANGELES — Rows of empty red cushions filled the Galen Center on Tuesday night, the people of Los Angeles not overly interested in another nonconference winter blowout. And yet these, truly, are the glory days, compared to where Rayah Marshall started.

During her freshman year, USC’s home games looked like a closed scrimmage. That was Coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s first team, long before JuJu Watkins and the revolution that would be televised, long before program legends like Cheryl Miller – sitting courtside for Tuesday’s game against Fresno State – returned to Galen. The believers had not come yet, and the building was filled by ghosts.

“I know Rayah’s mom will be here,” Gottlieb would crack about USC’s sparse crowds, as Marshall remembered.

No, the believers had not come yet. But the Marshalls always believed. The center grew up in an apartment eight minutes away, sleeping on the living room floor on pallets with a dozen or more of her cousins. This was home, and Gottlieb always believed in her, and Marshall saw no reason to leave.

Four years and a changed program later, and Marshall’s only continued to evolve under Gottlieb, the beating heart of USC’s fifth-ranked program and the beating heart of an 89-40 victory over the Bulldogs on Tuesday. She has played a variety of roles during her Trojans career: post scorer, blocked shot artist, glass-cleaner. Now, with sophomore Watkins and Stanford transfer Kiki Iriafen eating up touches as go-to options, Marshall has evolved her game another step – filling a vital role that would throw this USC program into flux if she operated with any degree of selfishness.

“As a coach, her development over four years is as good as it gets,” Gottlieb said after the win, “in terms of – feeling good about what we do.”

After a sloppy offensive start Tuesday, USC falling behind 10-6 midway through the first quarter while racking up six early turnovers, Gottlieb turned to a tempo-changing full-court press that has wreaked havoc for the Trojans (9-1 overall) through this early stretch. In a notable development, though, Gottlieb deployed the 6-foot-4 Marshall at the press’ point of attack rather than the back line. Her length visibly bothered Fresno’s ball handlers, and USC reversed a four-point early deficit into a 10-point chasm by the end of the first.

The center went on to score just seven points for the night, as Iriafen and Watkins carried the spotlight with 24 and 21, respectively. But Marshall was everywhere, in a star-making first-half box score.  She blocked three shots, swatting away a couple of layups like an overzealous volleyball player. She grabbed 11 boards, at one point snatching away a rebound from teammate Talia Von Oelhoffen’s hands, the guard throwing her hands up and widening her eyes in surprise. And Marshall recorded four assists, displaying sudden secondary-playmaker skills from the high post and frequently finding Iriafen underneath for layups.

“I think understanding how to play off of others is making us better, making her better,” Gottlieb said. “It certainly makes – I think, her move up draft boards. I mean, she can play any number of ways, and it’s been really impressive.”

By the fourth quarter, USC had ridden a bevy of forced turnovers and a remarkable 19 free throws to a 70-26 lead over the Bulldogs (7-4), Avery Howell nailing her third 3-pointer at the horn in one of the best extended stretches of the freshman’s early career. In a point to note, however, Gottlieb didn’t sit Watkins and the other starters until 4:43 remained, a theme that has persisted through several USC blowouts this season.

“The number-one thing is to win the game and to get us better,” Gottlieb said, pointing to a desire to continue experimenting with a variety of lineup combinations.

Iriafen finished with a double-double (12 rebounds), continuing to feast on post touches. Watkins added seven rebounds and five assists. And Marshall grabbed a team-leading 13 boards herself, the steadiest force on a USC team that continues to stabilize after a late-November loss to Notre Dame.