JuJu Watkins scores 31 as the USC Trojans move on to Big Ten Tournament semifinals
The No. 1 seed USC Trojans got pushed well into the fourth quarter against the No. 9 seed Indiana Hoosiers in a quarterfinal game of the Big Ten Tournament but JuJu Watkins came through and the Trojans got it done in an 84-79 win.
The Trojans were up against a partisan crowd with the tournament held in Indianapolis and USC was without veteran forward Rayah Marshall, who missed the game due to illness. While the Trojans led for 30:22 of game time, the Hoosiers made life difficult. Indiana hit 25-of-27 free-throw attempts and guard Yarden Garzon scored 23 points on the strength of 5-of-10 from three-point range.
The Hoosiers took their final lead of the game with 5:04 remaining in the third quarter before a three-pointer from Talia von Oelhoffen put the Trojans in front 48-46. A second three-pointer from von Oelhoffen, with 3:19 remaining, was part of a back-to-back with JuJu Watkins that pushed the USC lead to 68-77 and seemed to lock things up for the Trojans.
But the Trojans couldn’t put the Hoosiers away, and the lack of a real finishing kick will be something to watch as USC progresses in both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. Over the final two minutes of the game, while holding a nine-point lead, USC went just 7-of-16 from the free throw line and gave away any shot to turn this into a comfortable cruise to the final whistle.
USC did get enough defensive stops late. Indiana went just 3-of-14 from the floor over the final 6:55, which stopped a run in which they hit 12-of-20 shots over the final stretch of the second quarter and through the third.
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Watkins got help on the offensive end from Kiki Iriafen, who scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, including five offensive. She hit a number of midrange shots before fouling out late in the game.
Freshman Avery Howell drilled a couple of big-time threes on her way to 10 pounds, three assists, three rebounds and four assists. And fellow freshman Kennedy Smith scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds.
USC committed 16 turnovers and shot just 6-for-21 from three-point range. Those, plus the rough finish at the free throw line will be things to clean up when the Trojans take on either No. 5 Michigan or No. 4 Maryland in the semifinal tomorrow. That game will tip Saturday, March 8 at 12 pm PT and will air on Big Ten Network.
For Watkins, this was the 21st time in her USC career she’s scored at least 30 points. That moves her into second place all-time for the Trojans, behind Cheryl Miller with 25.
