USC women advance to Big Ten title game with strong finish in win over Michigan
USC guard JuJu Watkins, elevating for a layup between Michigan defenders, finished with 20 points Saturday. (Michael Conroy / AP)
Ben Bolch (LA Times) — INDIANAPOLIS — It had been a forgettable afternoon for JuJu Watkins when she found herself confronted by a double team on the low block early in the fourth quarter.
To that point, the USC superstar had missed more shots than she had made. Her most memorable moment might have been when she slammed the ball off the court in frustration after getting called for charging in the first half.
With her team tied with Michigan late in this Big Ten tournament semifinal, Watkins was running out of time to assert herself in her team’s biggest game of the season. She contemplated the double team and squeezed her body through the defenders for a leaning jumper that fell through the net.
The shot seemed to revive her team, the Trojans making a flurry of plays. There was a Malia Samuels driving layup in which she was fouled, leading to a three-point play. Avery Howell added a three-pointer and an old-fashioned three-point play after getting fouled on a layup.
Before Michigan finally countered, top-seeded USC had rolled off 14 consecutive points and was well on its way to an 82-70 victory over the fifth-seeded Wolverines on Saturday inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Forward Kiki Iriafen offset Watkins’ shooting struggles with a double-double, her 25 points and 11 rebounds ensuring the Trojans (28-2) would advance to the championship on Sunday against second-seeded UCLA (1:30 PT, CBS).
Watkins more than salvaged what was shaping up as a subpar day, finishing with 20 points on seven-for-17 shooting to go with 11 rebounds and three steals.
USC forward Kiki Iriafen and Michigan guard Jordan Hobbs battle for the ball during the first half Saturday. (Michael Conroy / AP)
“I thought she showed a lot of poise,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “It was probably frustrating. She was getting trapped and doubled when she’s with the ball in her hands. Tried to get her some looks kind of underneath the defense, but there were a lot of bodies there.”
Forward Rayah Marshall supplied nine points and a savvy prediction in her return from the illness that forced her out of USC’s quarterfinal victory over Indiana.
“I just heard Rayah during our timeout saying, ‘This group is going to get a run, this group is going to get a run,’” Samuels said. “So I think that really helped us get it going.”
Freshman guard Syla Swords scored 26 points for the Wolverines (22-10), who shot 38.5% to the Trojans’ 44.6% and were outrebounded by nine.
The third quarter was a story of redemption for the Trojans.
After Kennedy Smith missed a free throw, Watkins took a few steps toward her teammate in the lane and gestured with her arms, as if to tell Smith she’s got this. Smith went on to make the next free throw.
USC guard Kennedy Smith fouls Michigan guard Syla Swords while trying to block a shot during the second half Saturday. (Michael Conroy / AP)
Things were trending in Michigan’s direction after Swords’ two free throws gave the Wolverines a seven-point lead. But a Samuels corner three-pointer sparked a 7-0 run for the Trojans and they entered the fourth quarter leading by a point.
Gottlieb credited her team’s late scoring burst to strength and conditioning coach Kelly Dormandy keeping players in top shape, as well as those players’ determination.
“With JuJu and Kiki in particular,” Gottlieb said, “it’s not just their talent, they just have a fierce, kind of competitive will about them and [they] go ahead and make plays that you can’t really script.
“I would say many people are like that on our team — Ken and Rayah and really our team — and the confidence we’ve grown to know that with that burst of intensity and competitiveness, we still now have all the players that we need to make plays. You can’t sell out on one player on our team or take away one thing.”
Deep into the game, it looked like the Wolverines might have a chance.
Her shot continually betraying her, Watkins’ frustrations bubbled over early in the second quarter when she knocked over Michigan’s Jordan Hobbs and got called for charging. It was Watkins’ second foul, prompting her to slam the ball off the court and sending her to the bench. That opened the door for the Wolverines to extend their lead to 27-18 after back-to-back three-pointers from Hobbs.
The Trojans recovered by scoring the final six points of the first half to pull within 31-29. The big takeaway at that point was they were so close despite playing so poorly, Watkins making just two of nine shots and her team converting only three of 12 three-pointers.
By halftime, Swords had upstaged Watkins by scoring 14 points and pulling down four rebounds, easily outpacing Watkins’ four points, five rebounds and three turnovers.
Fortunately for Watkins and her team, there was another half of basketball left to play.
“We say not her best day because she’s got three and four bodies on her all the time, and to still end up with 20 and 11,” Gottlieb said of Watkins, her voice trailing off.
There was nothing else that needed to be said.
latimes.com
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USC leads RUT 78-77 with three mins to go in OT.
*** USC beats RUT 97-89 in two OTs.
USC plays PUR tomorrow. The Boilers beat USC 90-72 in West Lafayette on Feb. 7.
Finished overtime tied 81 all……
Double Overtime win for the Trojans 97 to 89. Tomorrow we play Purdue.
That will be a tough one
Tough enough to play back to back games when your opponent is rested but adding double overtime? Hard to win this one.
Fifteen Trojan Draft Prospects Showcase at USC Football’s Pro Day LOS ANGELES — Fifteen NFL Draft prospects from USC — safety Akili Arnold, linebacker Mason Cobb, cornerback Jacobe Covington, punter Eddie Czaplicki, wide receiver Kyle Ford, cornerback John Humphrey, kicker Michael Lantz, running back Woody Marks, linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, defensive tackle Gavin Meyer, offensive lineman Jonah Monheim, defensive end Jamil Muhammad, safety Bryson Shaw, cornerback Jaylin Smith and cornerback Greedy Vance Jr. — showcased their skills and measurements at the Trojans’ Pro Day on campus Wednesday morning (March 12) in Los Angeles. Three prospects — Marks, Monheim and Smith — were invited to the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine which was held in Indianapolis from Feb. 27 – March 2. One former… Read more »
Outside of RB and K/P, can someone under 6′ on this list make it in the NFL?
Jaylin Smith, maybe Akili Arnold
Caleb Williams must be a happy camper today……the Bears signed three top notch interior linemen from free agency.
Last week, the Bears acquired guards Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney in trades with the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs. Then, on the first day of free agency negotiation, Chicago agreed to a deal with Drew Dalman, who was the top center on the open market. In his rookie season, Williams took a league-high 68 sacks with blame falling both on him and the lack of protection in front of him. Ben Johnson has said his focus is to rebuild Williams in his second year, giving him better protection will allow the head coach more time to work on the fundamentals and intangibles… Read more »
Any change he gets up front is an improvement.
AP Women’s Basketball Poll 1. UCLA It’s been an excellent season for UCLA, who spent a large portion of the season ranked first in the AP Poll. They slipped a little bit late, losing twice to rival USC, but were still one of the best in the country and proved that in the Big Ten Tournament. Comfortable wins for UCLA against Nebraska and Ohio State got the Bruins to the Big Ten Championship in their first season with the conference. There, they ran into USC again. This time, however, UCLA was able to find a win in arguably the most important… Read more »
2025 Big Ten tournament (Indianapolis): FIRST ROUND (WED., MARCH 12)
Game 3: No. 11 Rutgers vs. No. 14 USC | 25 min. after previous game | Peacock
Pick: USC
This is a toss-up between two disappointing teams. Neither side won more than two-straight games in the regular season, and therefore they cannot be trusted to make a deep run.
If USC can neutralize at least one of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, Rutgers will not have enough answers.
Rutgers beat USC 95-85 in New Jersey on Feb. 23.
Carter Bahns/247sports.com
USC takes a commanding lead with 14 commits
2026 Recruit Football Team Rankings
247sports.com
Chris Arledge almost loses his temper talking about LR’s refusal to call running plays especially in the 4th quarter and having the lead in a game (latest Inside the Huddle podcast). Only Riley knows why he ignores the running game in the 4th quarter and refuses to explain why.
‘Tis a mystery….
Mike Battle, USC All-American who played for Jets, dies at 78 AP — LOS ANGELES — Mike Battle, an All-American defensive back and a member of USC‘s 1967 national championship team who later played two seasons for the New York Jets, has died. He was 78. He died of natural causes on March 6 in Nellysford, Virginia, the school said Tuesday. In 1967, Battle led a USC defense that allowed only 87 points all season. The Trojans were 26-6-1 and won three conference titles during his three-year career. Battle played in the 1967, 1968 and 1969 Rose Bowl games, all won… Read more »
Allen, you left out how Battle was famous for hurdling over tacklers when he returned punts and swan-dived into mattresses from the 2nd floor balcony at the Sigma Chi house.
Fight On for eternity, Mike Battle, a most noble Trojan.
As a Sig, I heard so many otherwordly stories about Rossovich (6-4, 245) and Battle (6-1, 175) that were inspirational in their support of fully crazed student-athletes who were willing to try anything, especially if dangerous. Both of these guys had insane streaks that made you wonder how they survived USC from a diet and enormous physical risk perspective. Eating cockroaches and glass was small potatoes to these guys. Both are amongst my favorite USC players of all time and were at USC when I was in HS. The Sig house (John Wayne’s frat) was a quite magnet for athletes… Read more »
Two commits today.
Mosley and Esun Tafa.
Both 4 star Offensive lineman, from Calif. and Utah. SC recruiting is on fire. Long live Chad Bowman
I want tp see them get the receiver from mission viejo Vance Spafford. He’s currently committed to georgia
Now that is progress.
The Chad Bowden Effect has already been enormous in such a short time.
Now that Bowden and his hand-picked staff are here, I figure most any recruit is much more likely to see USC as THE PLACE TO BE!
Power ranking college football’s top 25 coaches in 2025: Where are Ryan Day, Brian Kelly? Stewart Mandel (The Athletic) — Last year’s Top 25 college football coach rankings, published after Nick Saban’s retirement and Jim Harbaugh’s NFL exit, included a lot of big jumps that I had to course-correct a year later — including dropping last year’s No. 4 coach, Florida State’s Mike Norvell, all the way out. But I feel pretty darn good about my top 10 this year. It’s the rest that’s the hard part. Note: These are not career achievement rankings. I heavily weigh the past three to five seasons. This year, to… Read more »
Who on this list should be USC’s next HFC? Maybe #7, 9, 11, or 14.
I like 4, 7, 18, or 24. But nobody will be coming soon.
I would go with 4, 24 and Kenny Dillingham.
Lots of names….add Jedd Fisch. He made Arizona a winner and reports are that he is getting Washington ready (in 26) for another potential run. Imagine what he could do with our resources.
Sam Darnold, who is No. 1 on Frank Schwab’s top 25 overall free agents list, is reportedly signing a three-year, $100.5 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks, per ESPN and NFL Network. That’s not all for high-profile QB movement: The New York Jets are reportedly signing Justin Fields to a two-year, $40 million deal with $30 million guaranteed. And the Cleveland Browns acquired Kenny Pickett from the Philadelphia Eagles for Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round pick. S Talanoa Hufanga, Broncos reportedly agree to three-year, $45 million deal. Hufanga’s contract is worth up to $45 million and includes $20 million in guaranteed money. Hufanga has played his… Read more »
Very happy for Sam. Couldn’t have happened to a better guy! Great for Talanoa too!
Sam won’t be starving for next 3 years.
But Seattle has to get a WR and revamp the OL.
The OL is worse than Minn and is close to worse in NFL.
Sam……..smart move,,,,,,no state income tax and 55 million guaranteed. He is set for life.
Owner with plenty of cash and a team with a first round pick, two second round picks, two third round picks, a 4th and 5th and 2 picks in the 6th and 7th rounds. It’s generally acknowledged that Seattle needs Ol so I would guess at least 2 high level interior linemen will be drafted along with a free agent. They have room under the salary cap. .
Yes! They will add receivers and the OL. SD might just have a home!
How about that Sam Darnold, 3 years for $100,000,000. Seahawks.
Fifita is the nation’s No. 92-rated IOL and California’s No. 119 overall 2026 prospect, per 247Sports rankings.
SC says they are going to bring 30 or 31 players in the 2025 class. They are not going to get thirty one 4 or 5 stars. There will be a number of 3 stars in that group. There are a number of stars in the NFL who were just 3 stars coming out of high school. I’ll bet SC has a number of 3 stars in their 22 starters. There are a lot of kids out there that are 3 star sleepers. They need to evaluate these guys so that they bring in 3 stars who can compete big… Read more »
Yes Parcelman but those 3-star players also include ones who have peaked as HS juniors/seinors and will be of little help on the college field of play. There are always diamonds in the rough that come through due to the hungar in their heart & mind. That’s the challenge isn’t it? Finding them.
True, there are 3 stars that will end up being busts. But there are also 4 and 5 stars that will be busts.Like you say. you have to find the right 3 stars.
Interesting how SC adds a “program manager” and Viola! they have a top recruiting class. What has LR been doing? The guy gets some $10mm a year and couldn’t/wouldn’t recruit.
They stated they are modeling recruiting after what PC, JRob and JMcK did – but those HC’s did all the recruiting themselves….!
I’m just grateful that Jen Cohen had the savvy, patience, and presentation during these tough times for USC football to get the right guy — and clearly damage ND in the process.
Chad Bowden now suddenly has USC football going full steam ahead. It’s amazing how quickly things have changed for USC so far in 2025 with the addition of these new operations people.
Our recruiting is simply off the charts now. ✌
JuJu Watkins Reveals Why She’s ‘Grateful’ for USC vs UCLA Rivalry After Big Ten Loss USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins offered an insightful response about having to play UCLA three times this season. Grant Young (si.com) — The USC Trojans vs. UCLA Bruins rivalry is one of the most historic and iconic rivalries in all of college athletics, and spans dozens of sports. Both teams migrating to the Big Ten Conference after the Pac-12 Conference’s dissolution ensured that this Southern California rivalry could persist. And there’s arguably no sport where it’s better right now than women’s basketball. USC and… Read more »
ucla won the WBB CC based on the fact that USC shooting went into the trash. Bad turnovers by USC, and horrible shooting in the 2nd half.
So very hard to beat the same team 3-times in a month. And the conference championship playing straight days? Come on, the NCAA playoffs don’t schedule like that. It’s more of a money grab?
Sooner or later this Bruin team was gonna win one against USC. I’m glad we got the loss out of the way. USC won the reg season title which matters more to me.
I could not catch the game, but in the 2nd half, USC was apparently a wild turnover-prone team that couldn’t hit a bucket. And we still only lost by five.
The Tourney could be fantastic!
Any truth that the Trojans weren’t feeling their best? Marshall was out sick for the Michigan game and only played half of this game. Heckel didn’t play at all yesterday. I thought I heard some mention that Watkins wasn’t feeling well but played anyway. If true, an ill Trojans barley lost to a Ruin team they have dominated this month.
Been harping on this consistent sloppy unforced turnover problem that finds its way in every game. The coaches don’t seem to care. As you said, the turnovers mattered in this game and cost a win!
Agree. There is no need for a Conference Tournament. Let the teams rest and prep for the NCAAs.
You saw it the same as I did.
Steelers Become Surprise Team Expected to Make Sam Darnold an Offer Ryan Phillips (si.com) — The list of teams interested in Sam Darnold just got an addition and it’s a surprising one. Darnold is set to become a free agent after an excellent season with the Minnesota Vikings and should be able to land a big contract in a market that includes a lot of quarterback-needy teams. On Sunday we learned of a shocking team that is expected to make an offer to the 27-year-old. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini is reporting the Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to make an offer to Darnold. Though… Read more »
Seems the self-imposed turnovers keep showing up in these games. And Gottlieb says very little about it. You can’t ignore 11-15 plus careless turnovers and think against the top teams it won’t cause a loss. I hope somehow this issue is delt with and soon!
That’s been their one weakness all season. They play too fast and wild at times. But you can’t argue the results.
Watkins making some terrible passes in Q3.
Hoping Watkins cold yesterday turns into a hot one today. U C L A SUCKS!