by No. 2 UCLA went 27-2 in the regular season. Usc’s Juju Watkins had a combined 68 points against the Bruins in those two losses. On February 13 she scored 38 points in a win of 71-60. And on Saturday she had 30 in an 80-67 victory.
With another burning performance of the leader for the National Player of the Year, no. 4 USC de Bruins defeated to wipe their season series and to win the Big Ten title of the regular season. UCLA remained unbeaten in games that were not involved.
Watkins received those 30 points on 10-or-22 shooting from the field (4-of-11 from 3-point range), while crumbling in five assists, three rebounds, three blocks and two steals against two turnover.
USC started a strong start behind Watkins, who scored 23 of those points in a first half that ended with the Trojans who led with 14 points. For a sold out, USC played a sold -out Pauley Pavilion in Westwood and took the check early.
UCLA managed to return to the game in the second half, which limited the management to only four points towards the end of the third quarter. Another run in the fourth put the Trojans back in control, allowing Watkins to check out with a full minute to enjoy the victory.
USC has now defeated four times consecutive UCLA, where Watkins dropped at least 30 points in each match. She is now 4-1 against the Bruins. Trojan legend Cheryl Miller, present with her brother and Ucla Alum Reggie Miller, liked what she saw.
On the other side of the sidelines, UCLA’s own National Player of the Year candidate Lauren Betts struggled and ended with 11 points on 5-of-11 shootings, 11 rebounds, two blocks and five turnover. USC clearly had a game plan for her and was aggressive with his double teams, and it worked.
With their leading Scorer Stille and Kiki Rice, their only other player with average double digits per match, shoot 3-of-13, the Bruins could hardly keep enough momentum on the attack. They shot 22-of-61 (36.1%) as a team, with 16 turnover against 16 assists.
The victory means that USC will take the number 1 seed in the Big Tournament and now have the inside of the inside of a number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. UCLA was the top team when the NCAA tournamentomité unveiled its top 16 on Thursday, while USC had the last number 1 seed. These two teams were theoretical to meet again in the Big Ten -Tournament, with even more at stake.
