No. 4 USC vs No. 23 Michigan | Big Ten | 12.29.24

Описание: LOS ANGELES, California — December 29th, 2024

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Recap below...

The No. 4 USC women's basketball team impressed in its first Big Ten Conference game at Galen Center, turning a tight game into a landslide victory as the Trojans beat visiting No. 23 Michigan 78-58. JuJu Watkins tallied her 17th career 30-point game, finishing with 31 to help pace the Trojans in front of a crowd of 8,043. Having outscored Michigan 44-27 in the second half, USC improves to 12-1 overall and is now 2-0 in Big Ten play. The Wolverines are now 10-3, 1-1.

Michigan was shooting 50 percent from 3-point range in the first half, landing six threes to help the Wolverines stay in reach of the Trojans, who led it 34-31 at halftime. USC had three 3-pointers on the board and was shooting 43.3 percent overall to outpace Michigan's overall 34.5 percent first-half effort. USC was also ahead on the boards 20-18 at the break. Michigan would fall silent from the floor for over seven minutes in the second half while the Trojans turned the tide. The Wolverines landed just one 3-pointer in the second half and finished out the game shooting 33.3 percent overall to trail USC's effective 46.6 percent effort. Michigan would boast a rebounding edge, 38-37, but in the end it was USC's powerful second half that secured a decisive victory.

Watkins' 31-point outing included a season-high 13-of-14 effort from the free-throw line. She also served up nine assists and delivered a game-high three blocks. Watkins was joined in double figures with Kiki Iriafen's 18 points and 15 from Rayah Marshall. Michigan had three players hit double digits — Jordan Hobbs (19 points), Greta Kampschroeder (14) and Olivia Olson (11).

USC answered back-to-back Wolverine 3-pointers with blasts from Kayleigh Heckel and JuJu Watkins around a block from Avery Howell to tug the Trojans to a 15-11 lead with 1:50 on the clock in the first. Watkins delivered from the stripe next, making it an 8-0 USC rally for a 17-11 Trojan advantage after 10 minutes of action. Michigan got to within four points of the Trojans early in the second, only to see USC craft a 6-0 surge on scores from Rayah Marshall and Watkins. Watkins got into double digits soon after, landing a floater in the lane to get USC to a 29-21 lead with 5:30 on the clock. Michigan fired back, landing three 3-pointers in under three minutes and getting another bucket to go, making it a 32-29 margin with 1:45 remaining in the first half. Only free throws fell the rest of the way, and USC gripped a 34-31 lead at the break.

It was a wild stretch in the early goings of the third as Michigan stole into the lead with its opening push until Watkins leveled it at 36-36. The Wolverines and Trojans would trade baskets next before Avery Howell broke the cycle with a fine finish that Rayah Marshall followed up with a three-point play to craft a 43-38 USC lead five minutes into the frame. Watkins was effective in getting to the free-throw line, making 10 of her 11 tosses to help the Trojans take a 57-47 lead into the fourth quarter. Eight straight points from Kiki Iriafen — who was carrying four fouls — lifted USC into a 65-47 advantage before the Wolverines hit their first field goal in over seven minutes. USC responded with back-to-back Watkins strikes and another pair from Iriafen to mount a 73-49 advantage with 3:45 to go. The hits kept coming when Malia Samuels nabbed a steal and Howell planted a 3-pointer to cap off an 11-0 USC scoring surge to lead it 76-49 at 3:30. Michigan found some late buckets, but the Trojan victory was already well in-hand as USC wrapped the 78-58 final.

NEXT:
USC continues its inaugural Big Ten Conference home stand this week as the Trojans turn to host Nebraska at noon on New Year's Day.

NOTABLE:
With 31 points tonight, SO JuJu Watkins moved up to No. 18 all-time in career scoring at USC (1,248 points).
Watkins has now recorded seventeen 30-point games in 47 career games.
Watkins (31 points) and GS Kiki Iriafen (18) have now both scored in double digits in all 13 USC games this season.
Watkins made a season-high 13 free throws.

Written by USCtrojans.com

https://usctrojans.com/news/2024/12/2...