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8-1,1-0Big Ten
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No. 6 USC Women’s Basketball Defeats Oregon 66-53 in First Big Ten Win
December 07, 2024 | Women's Basketball
The Trojans take down the Ducks to open up conference play.
EUGENE, ORE. — The No. 6 USC women's basketball team collected its first win in Big Ten competition with a 66-53 victory against familiar foe Oregon on the road at the Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. today. With its first victory on the road, USC improves to 8-1 and 1-0 in Big Ten play, while Oregon goes to 7-3, 0-1.
USC trailed 13-12 after the first quarter, but used a dominating 18-0 run to start the second quarter to take the lead for good. JuJu Watkins led the surge with 10 points in the run, with Rayah Marshall, Kiki Iriafen and Avery Howell supplying the rest of the scoring in the spurt. While Oregon had led in the first quarter by as many as six points, the Trojans held a 40-19 advantage going into the break. USC shot 45.2 percent from the field to outperform the Ducks' 26.7 percent. With a 45-31 advantage on the boards and steady offensive effort including nine triples, the Trojans wrapped up the game with 40.4 percent on the floor. Oregon finished at 35.5 percent, committing 16 turnovers and dishing out 10 assists.
The Trojans started off slow offensively, with Iriafen dropping in USC's first field goal at the 6:10 mark. Oregon built some initial momentum with a 9-3 lead in the first quarter, the largest lead it would see, as USC cut into the margin to close out the first frame trailing by one point 14-13. USC then blasted off on a decisive 18-0 run sparked by Marshall's muscling down in the paint. From there, the Trojans never relinquished their control, with Watkins heating up to power a solo seven-point surge. A 3-point splash by Howell would give the Trojans a double-digit 24-13 lead with 6:16 left on the clock. In the second quarter, USC limited Oregon to just six points, concluding the first 20 minutes of play with a 40-19 lead.
The second half saw an even exchange of baskets between the Trojans and the Ducks. Oregon struck first but von Oelhoffen answered with a 3-point sinker to put USC up 43-23. Oregon got to an 8-0 groove aided by a layup and a pair of triples to make it 49-35 with 2:28 on the clock. Early in the fourth quarter, Watkins nailed a dagger from downtown to bring the Trojans to 58-43 and deflate Oregon energy in the Knight arena. USC remained steady throughout the rest of the game. Marshall, von Oelhoffen and Iriafen kept delivering hits to maintain the lead, with Howell topping off the margin at the charity stripe. The Trojans overcame the Ducks 66-53 for their first victory on the road and in the Big Ten conference.
NEXT:
USC gets back to Los Angeles for two nonconference bouts at Galen Center, hosting Fresno State at 6 p.m. on Tuesday (Dec. 10) before taking on Elon at 12 p.m. next Sunday (Dec. 15).
NOTABLE:
- USC started the second quarter on an 18-0 run.
- SO JuJu Watkins with 21 points and GS Kiki Iriafen with 17 points have now both scored in double figures in each of USC's first nine games.
- Watkins has now scored 20 or more points in 35 of her 43 career games.
- SO Malia Samuels recorded a season high in rebounds with six, matching her career high with the Trojans.
- Iriafen scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.
- USC made nine 3-pointers today (9-for-25, 36.0 percent) and has made nine or more 3-point baskets in three straight games.
- The Trojans are now 8-0 when outrebounding an opponent, beating Oregon 45-31 on the boards today.
