Kiki Iriafen had 24 points and 13 rebounds and No. 7 Southern California defeated eighth-ranked Ohio State 84-63 on Saturday night when Trojans star JuJu Watkins struggled offensively.
It was a cold shooting night for Watkins, the Big Ten’s leading scorer who averages 24.2 points. She missed her first 11 shots before scoring on a layup in the third quarter, drawing big cheers from the crowd. She was 5-for-21 from the floor (1-of-6 from 3-point range) and finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Trojans (21-2, 11-1 Big Ten) missed their first seven shots and had five turnovers in the game’s opening five minutes.
The Buckeyes (20-3, 9-3) were led by Taylor Thierry, who scored 14 points before fouling out with 5:37 remaining. Cotie McMahon added 13 points.
Takeaways
Ohio State: The Buckeyes got swept in LA, losing to top-ranked UCLA by 13 points. They led the Trojans by five to start the game and trailed by one in the second quarter only to get outscored 13-6 to end the first half down 34-26.
USC: The Trojans need Watkins to regain her shooting touch with crosstown rival UCLA looming. They also must cut down on turnovers. They committed 23 — second-worst of the season.
Key moment
The Trojans pulled away in the third, closing on a 9-2 run to lead 59-45 going into the fourth. Watkins had five points and Kayleigh Heckel added four in the spurt.
Key stat
Watkins was 0-for-8 from the floor in the first half when she made all four of her free throws. Against Minnesota a week ago, she was 0-for-10 in the first half and finished with 20 points.
Up next
Ohio State hosts Minnesota on Thursday. USC hosts No. 1 UCLA on Thursday in a sold-out game.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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