INDIANAPOLIS — The No. 2 USC women’s basketball team hit a cold patch in the second half of play in the Big Ten Tournament title match and saw a double-digit Trojan lead fall away as rival No. 3 UCLA made its move to win the championship with a 72-67 decision at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. USC is now 28-3 overall, while the Bruins go to 30-2 with their only losses this season having come to the Trojans during the regular season.
UCLA opened up the game 4-for-4 from 3-point range, but it was USC’s control of the boards in the first half that helped anchor the Trojans to a 10-point halftime lead over the Bruins. USC outrebounded UCLA 23-9 in the first 20 minutes and was shooting 47.1 percent from the floor, just behind UCLA’s 48.0 percent by the break. USC’s scoring pace dipped in the next stretch, with only nine points scored in the third quarter. UCLA took the lead back in the fourth and held on, finishing the game shooting 52.3 percent overall. USC wrapped up at 34.3 percent, and both teams hit eight 3-pointers on the day. USC did finish ahead on the boards 38-27 and forced 24 turnovers out of the Bruins.
USC received a game-high 29 points from JuJu Watkins and 10 points from Kiki Iriafen to lead USC’s scoring effort. UCLA had Lauren Betts finish with 17 points, while Kiki Rice and London Jones added 13 each for the Bruins.
USC’s Watkins and Iriafen were both named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team at the close of the event.
UCLA had the edge early, knocking down the game’s first 3-pointer to get out to an 11-5 lead with 5:50 on the clock, but the Trojans were undeterred. Watkins fired off five straight points, and then a hustle play from Malia Samuels fed a finish from Kiki Iriafen to get USC its first lead a 11-10 at 4:55. Watkins made it a 9-0 USC rally next to lead it 14-11 and prompt a UCLA timeout. Samuels stepped up and buried back-to-back 3-pointers around one from the Bruins, extending USC’s run to 12-0 and then making it a 20-14 USC lead at 2:20. An Avery Howell bucket followed, and USC was a up 22-14 with 2:10 to go in the first. Clarice Akunwafo became the sixth Trojan to score in the frame in the final minute, and it was a 24-19 scoreline with the Trojans on top after 10 minutes of play. Talia von Oelhoffen and Howell hit threes for the Trojan cause in the first four minutes of the second, although USC would find only free throws for the next stretch while UCLA carved the margin to one at 36-35 with 2:30 to go in the half. Again, USC didn’t flinch. Instead, the Trojans rattled off nine straight points to wrap the half — Watkins delivered six of those, and Howell had the last word with a baseline three to top off the half as a 45-35 USC lead.
USC opened up the second half with a von Oelhoffen three, although UCLA was able to cut into the Trojans’ lead with a couple threes of its own. After Watkins got her count to 20 on the day, UCLA hit a 3-pointer to make it 42-35 USC at 4:00. That was a boost for the Bruins, who made it a 10-2 surge to close the third with USC gripping a 54-52 lead. UCLA worked into its first lead since the first quarter in scoring the first six points of that frame, going up 58-54 with 6:10 on the clock. USC found itself unable to land a field goal for much of the fourth, finally breaking through on a Watkins jumper that had the Trojans within four, down 64-60 entering the final minute. Forced to foul, USC saw UCLA work to a 70-62 lead with 13 ticks to go. Watkins landed a 3-pointer three seconds later and got another score to go with 10 seconds left, making it 70-67, but the Bruins held out from the line in the final ticks to win it 72-67.
NEXT:
USC now awaits the reveal of the 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracket, eager to learn its seeding for the coming tournament. The NCAA Selection Show airs on ESPN on Sunday (March 16) at 5 p.m. PT.
NOTABLE:
– With 29 points, SO JuJu Watkins has scored in double figures in all 31 games this season and in all but one career game (9 vs. Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship game on March 20, 2024).
– Watkins recorded her 26th 20-point game this season, most in the country.
– Watkins now has scored 1,684 career points, remaining ranked at No. 10 all-time in career scoring at USC and three points behind Ebony Hoffman who scored 1,687 points in her USC career.
– Watkins averaged 32.3 points per game in the three meetings with UCLA this season (97 total points)
– FR Avery Howell made two 3-pointers, recording at least one 3-pointer in 19 of 21 games vs. Big Ten opponents.
– USC grabbed 21 offensive rebounds, its third-most in a game this season and most since a season-high 26 offensive rebounds at Rutgers on Jan. 5.
– With 2 steals, FR Kennedy Smith has recorded at least one steal in 22 of 25 games played.
– With 10 points, GS Kiki Iriafen has scored in double figures in 31 of the 32 games she has played this season.
– USC outrebounded UCLA 38-27. USC lost its first game this season when outrebounding the opposition (21-1)
– USC didn’t score its first FG in the fourth quarter until there was 1:12 remaining in the game (missed first 13 shots of the quarter).
– USC shot 22.2 percent (8-for-36) in the second half today. USC shot 13.3 percent (2-for-15) from beyond the arc in the second half.
– USC was held to 22 points in the second half. USC has had 55 quarters this season in which it scored 22 or more points.
– USC had its program-best five game winning streak in conference tournament games snapped with the 72-67 loss today.
– UCLA was 13-for-13 from the free throw line in the second half, while USC was 4-for-5
– USC had won eight straight games against AP-ranked opponents.
– USC is now 5-2 against top-10 opponents and 9-2 against all top-25 opponents this season.
