No. 4 USC women’s basketball tops No. 2 UCLA again, wins Big Ten title

Juju Watkins scores 30 points as the Trojans beat UCLA for a second time this season in crosstown rivarly.

Mar 2, 2025 - 06:00

No. 4 USC women’s basketball tops No. 2 UCLA again, wins Big Ten title

JuJu Watkins #12 of the USC Trojans defends against Kiki Rice #1 of the UCLA Bruins in the first half of a NCAA women’s basketball game at Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)

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LOS ANGELES — The first matchup between the UCLA and USC women’s basketball teams was one of the biggest nights of basketball in Los Angeles this season. The second was even bigger.

The urgency of crosstown rivalry bragging rights was amplified. Both teams were named No. 1 seeds in the NCAA’s latest Sweet 16 reveal and the winner of Saturday’s game would be crowned the Big Ten Conference regular season champion.

USC embraced the pressure of it all and earned its second win over the Bruins, 80-67. The Trojans are the only team to hand UCLA a loss this season.

USC’s JuJu Watkins finished with a game-high 30 points, five assists and three blocks, while Kiki Iriafen had 17 points and nine rebounds.

USC (27-2 overall, 17-1 Big Ten) held Lauren Betts to 11 points but the 6-foot-7 center pulled down 11 rebounds. Kiki Rice scored 16 points and added four rebounds and six assists for UCLA.

Rice missed a free throw with three minutes left in the third quarter but grabbed the rebound and wrestled with Rayan Marshall for possession until the whistle blew — a moment that seemed to embody the second half.

Watkins had gone cold — at least by her standards — and only made 2 of 6 shots. Her teammates had made up for the dearth and went on a 7-0 scoring run that matched the run that UCLA (28-2, 16-2) had gone on earlier in the frame.

The Bruins had come within four points of tying the game but USC had jumped ahead 64-51 even as all five starting players were in foul trouble.

Avery Howell came off the bench to hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Iriafen followed up with a jump shot to give her team a 20-point advantage in the final quarter that the Bruins were unable to overcome.

USC looked sharp from the beginning, storming into the game. Watkins found comfortable spots to glide to her 3-point shot and the Trojans passed the ball just as smoothly. They went on a 9-0 scoring run within the first three minutes of the game.

UCLA manufactured its own scoring run and strung together six points but still wasn’t close to closing the gap. Watkins continued to sink threes and finished the opening frame with 13 points.

A switch somewhere deep in UCLA had flipped with two minutes to go in the quarter. Watkins had missed two straight threes and was facing double-teams from Londynn Jones and Kiki Rice. Rice blocked a shot by Kayleigh Heckel and the Bruins got the ball to Angela Dugalic.

Pauley Pavilion was almost silent as Dugalic arched back for a shot, then sent the crowd roaring when she hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with one minute on the clock. The basket cut USC’s lead to 23-20.

The Bruins were trying to catch lightning in a bottle, though. USC came out strong again at the start of the second quarter and kept rattling UCLA, which shot 30.8% in the frame. The Trojans were double-teaming not just Betts, but anyone who had the ball in their hands.

USC scored 17 points off turnovers in the first half and pulled ahead 36-32 at the break.

Both teams have a brief rest until the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, which is slated for March 5-9 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. After that, Selection Sunday is on March 16.