Saturday, March 1
Westwood, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
USC
26-2,16-1Big Ten
80
at
67
UCLA
27-2,15-2Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Southern California
23
23
18
16
80
UCLA
20
12
19
16
67
Team Stats
USC
UCLA
FG%
.485
.361
3FG%
.348
.250
FT%
.667
.692
RB
36
42
TO
12
16
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
30
FGM
10
3FGM
4
FTM
6
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
C/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballNo. 4 USC Women’s Basketball Beats No. 2 UCLA 80-67 To Win Big Ten Regular-Season Title
March 01, 2025 | Women's Basketball
JuJu Watkins scored 23 points in the first half and Kiki Iriafen added 15 in the second to help key the Trojan victory at Pauley Pavilion.
WESTWOOD, CALIF. — The No. 4 USC women's basketball team won its first regular-season conference title since 1994 in impressive fashion, taking down No. 2-ranked crosstown rival 80-67 on the road in a game that the Trojans never trailed. JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen combined for 47 points while the Trojans got key contributions down the line to secure the 2025 Big Ten Conference regular-season championship in front of a packed house at Pauley Pavilion. USC is now 26-2 overall in posting a 17-1 mark in conference play.
JuJu Watkins had 23 of USC's 46 first-half points, and the Trojans kept the Bruins at bay in the second quarter to build out a 46-32 halftime advantage. USC was shooting 47.4 percent from the floor to that point, outpacing UCLA's 36.7 percent, with Watkins claiming four of USC's six 3-pointers drained in the first half of action. UCLA led on the rebounding front 21-18 at the break. The teams largely kept their pace in the second half, although USC held a 20-point lead during the fourth quarter, as the Trojans wrapped the game shooting 48.5 percent and UCLA finished at 36.1 percent overall. The Bruins won the battle of the boards 42-36. USC was tagged for almost double the fouls that UCLA earned — 23-12 — and shot less than half the free throws that the Bruins did — 12 to 26.
Watkins pinned up 30 points to lead all scorers — her 20th career 30-point outing and third against the Bruins. Iriafen finished with 17 — 15 of which came in the second half — and had nine rebounds for USC. UCLA's scoring output was paced by Kiki Rice's 16 points, with a 10-of-11 effort from the free-throw line. London Jones added 12 points, and Lauren Betts had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Bruins.
JuJu Watkins opened USCs account with a smooth 3-pointer that sparked a 9-0 USC start to this rivalry clash that featured five points from Watkins and four from Rayah Marshall. A clutch four-point play converted by Talia von Oelhoffen had USC on top 13-2 with 5:30 on the clock. Watkins would bury two more threes around a single Bruin bucket to net a 21-12 USC lead at 2:50, although the foul count was tipping against the Trojans. Interrupted by fouls, USC saw UCLA make an 8-2 push to close the first, landing a 3-pointer in the final minute to make the score 23-20 Trojans after 10 minutes of play. Again USC had a hot hand in opening the next quarter, sparked by a 3-pointer from Kennedy Smith. USC climbed out to a 10-point lead. UCLA cut in to within six, only to see Smith strike again on a nifty take to the hoop before Clarice Akunwafo knocked the ball away for Kayleigh Heckel to scoop up and later find von Oelhoffen for a jumper that got USC ahead 34-24 at 5:37. It was a 10-point margin entering the final two minutes of the half, but Watkins had more lying in wait. She converted on a three-point play and then answered a pair of UCLA free throws with a 3-pointer that landed USC a 46-32 halftime lead.
The third unfurled as a back-and-forth battle. The Bruins got the deficit down to single digits in a three-point play converted at 6:24, making it a 53-44 margin. The Bruins benefitted from another spate of Trojan foul trouble, netting five free throws and getting a bucket to go to trim the USC lead to 55-51 with 3:00 to go in the third. A second Trojan was tagged with her fourth foul of the game when Kennedy Smith picked up her fourth a few minutes after von Oelhoffen had been handed her fourth. The foul count was 19 against the Trojans tot by the Bruins in the game with 1:15 on the clock. By then, Malia Samuels had joined the scoresheet for USC with a gutsy bucket that gave USC a lift. That helped light the fuse on a 9-0 USC response featuring big strikes from Iriafen and Watkins as USC built out a 64-51 lead to top of the third. The fourth caught fire on back-to-back 3-pointers from Avery Howell and then a sparking jumper from Iriafen that had USC holding a 20-point lead with 6:20 to go. Von Oelhoffen was sidelined by her fifth foul with 5:11 on the clock with the score sitting at 76-59 USC. Another Iriafen score came not long after, though, and USC gripped a 78-59 lead with 3:30 remaining. UCLA found some late buckets, but the Trojan advantage was enough to keep the Bruins at bay as USC finished out an 80-67 win over its crosstown rival to claim the Big Ten regular-season title.
NEXT:
USC has secured the top seed for the coming Big Ten Tournament and will open competition in Indianapolis in the quarterfinals on March 7.
NOTABLE:
- This was USC's first regular-season championship since 1994 (Pac-10).
- USC has now won eight straight games against AP-ranked opponents.
- Now with three road wins over top-10 opponents, USC has matched the most such wins by a USC team since 1982-83.
- This was USC's first win at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion since Jan. 20, 2019 and 22nd at Pauley all-time.
- With this win, USC wins its first-ever Big Ten regular-season title and moves to 26-2 overall and 18-1 in conference play.
- USC's 26-2 record through the first 28 games is USC's best since the 1982-83 season.
- USC is now 9-1 this season against ranked opponents.
- The last time USC beat UCLA in both regular season games was over a decade ago (2013-14).
- With 30 points, SO JuJu Watkins has tied Cherie Nelson for 20 career 30-point games, which ranks second in program history behind Cheryl Miller's 25 30-point games.
- This is Watkins's third 30-point game against UCLA.
- With four 3-pointers made, Watkins has hit at least one three in 27 of USC's last 28 games.
- Watkins has scored in double figures in all 28 games this season and in all but one career game (9 vs. Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship game on March 20, 2024).
- With three blocks this afternoon, Watkins has recorded 29 total blocks against Big Ten teams.
- Watkins' 684 points scored this season is the sixth most in program history.
- With 17 points, GS Kiki Iriafen has scored in double digits in 27 of the 28 games she has played this season.
- With one steal, FR Kennedy Smith has recorded at least one steal in 18 of 21 games played.
- With one block, SR Rayah Marshall has recorded at least one block in 25 of 27 games played (56 on the season).
- With two 3-pointers made, FR Avery Howell has recorded at least one three in 15 of 17 games vs. Big Ten opponents.
- The Trojans move to 23-0 when scoring over 70 points, and 22-0 when it keeps opponents to under 70 points.
- This was USC's second-ever Big Ten regular-season title, following women's soccer's title won in the fall.
JuJu Watkins had 23 of USC's 46 first-half points, and the Trojans kept the Bruins at bay in the second quarter to build out a 46-32 halftime advantage. USC was shooting 47.4 percent from the floor to that point, outpacing UCLA's 36.7 percent, with Watkins claiming four of USC's six 3-pointers drained in the first half of action. UCLA led on the rebounding front 21-18 at the break. The teams largely kept their pace in the second half, although USC held a 20-point lead during the fourth quarter, as the Trojans wrapped the game shooting 48.5 percent and UCLA finished at 36.1 percent overall. The Bruins won the battle of the boards 42-36. USC was tagged for almost double the fouls that UCLA earned — 23-12 — and shot less than half the free throws that the Bruins did — 12 to 26.
Watkins pinned up 30 points to lead all scorers — her 20th career 30-point outing and third against the Bruins. Iriafen finished with 17 — 15 of which came in the second half — and had nine rebounds for USC. UCLA's scoring output was paced by Kiki Rice's 16 points, with a 10-of-11 effort from the free-throw line. London Jones added 12 points, and Lauren Betts had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Bruins.
"I think we have all the pieces we need and we're clicking at the right time. March is when everything matters."@USCWBB's Kiki Iriafen evaluated the Trojans' performance with @keelyismyname after defeating No. 2 UCLA & winning the @bigten regular season title ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/aaTTCcyKwC
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) March 2, 2025
JuJu Watkins opened USCs account with a smooth 3-pointer that sparked a 9-0 USC start to this rivalry clash that featured five points from Watkins and four from Rayah Marshall. A clutch four-point play converted by Talia von Oelhoffen had USC on top 13-2 with 5:30 on the clock. Watkins would bury two more threes around a single Bruin bucket to net a 21-12 USC lead at 2:50, although the foul count was tipping against the Trojans. Interrupted by fouls, USC saw UCLA make an 8-2 push to close the first, landing a 3-pointer in the final minute to make the score 23-20 Trojans after 10 minutes of play. Again USC had a hot hand in opening the next quarter, sparked by a 3-pointer from Kennedy Smith. USC climbed out to a 10-point lead. UCLA cut in to within six, only to see Smith strike again on a nifty take to the hoop before Clarice Akunwafo knocked the ball away for Kayleigh Heckel to scoop up and later find von Oelhoffen for a jumper that got USC ahead 34-24 at 5:37. It was a 10-point margin entering the final two minutes of the half, but Watkins had more lying in wait. She converted on a three-point play and then answered a pair of UCLA free throws with a 3-pointer that landed USC a 46-32 halftime lead.
The third unfurled as a back-and-forth battle. The Bruins got the deficit down to single digits in a three-point play converted at 6:24, making it a 53-44 margin. The Bruins benefitted from another spate of Trojan foul trouble, netting five free throws and getting a bucket to go to trim the USC lead to 55-51 with 3:00 to go in the third. A second Trojan was tagged with her fourth foul of the game when Kennedy Smith picked up her fourth a few minutes after von Oelhoffen had been handed her fourth. The foul count was 19 against the Trojans tot by the Bruins in the game with 1:15 on the clock. By then, Malia Samuels had joined the scoresheet for USC with a gutsy bucket that gave USC a lift. That helped light the fuse on a 9-0 USC response featuring big strikes from Iriafen and Watkins as USC built out a 64-51 lead to top of the third. The fourth caught fire on back-to-back 3-pointers from Avery Howell and then a sparking jumper from Iriafen that had USC holding a 20-point lead with 6:20 to go. Von Oelhoffen was sidelined by her fifth foul with 5:11 on the clock with the score sitting at 76-59 USC. Another Iriafen score came not long after, though, and USC gripped a 78-59 lead with 3:30 remaining. UCLA found some late buckets, but the Trojan advantage was enough to keep the Bruins at bay as USC finished out an 80-67 win over its crosstown rival to claim the Big Ten regular-season title.
NEXT:
USC has secured the top seed for the coming Big Ten Tournament and will open competition in Indianapolis in the quarterfinals on March 7.
NOTABLE:
- This was USC's first regular-season championship since 1994 (Pac-10).
- USC has now won eight straight games against AP-ranked opponents.
- Now with three road wins over top-10 opponents, USC has matched the most such wins by a USC team since 1982-83.
- This was USC's first win at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion since Jan. 20, 2019 and 22nd at Pauley all-time.
- With this win, USC wins its first-ever Big Ten regular-season title and moves to 26-2 overall and 18-1 in conference play.
- USC's 26-2 record through the first 28 games is USC's best since the 1982-83 season.
- USC is now 9-1 this season against ranked opponents.
- The last time USC beat UCLA in both regular season games was over a decade ago (2013-14).
- With 30 points, SO JuJu Watkins has tied Cherie Nelson for 20 career 30-point games, which ranks second in program history behind Cheryl Miller's 25 30-point games.
- This is Watkins's third 30-point game against UCLA.
- With four 3-pointers made, Watkins has hit at least one three in 27 of USC's last 28 games.
- Watkins has scored in double figures in all 28 games this season and in all but one career game (9 vs. Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship game on March 20, 2024).
- With three blocks this afternoon, Watkins has recorded 29 total blocks against Big Ten teams.
- Watkins' 684 points scored this season is the sixth most in program history.
- With 17 points, GS Kiki Iriafen has scored in double digits in 27 of the 28 games she has played this season.
- With one steal, FR Kennedy Smith has recorded at least one steal in 18 of 21 games played.
- With one block, SR Rayah Marshall has recorded at least one block in 25 of 27 games played (56 on the season).
- With two 3-pointers made, FR Avery Howell has recorded at least one three in 15 of 17 games vs. Big Ten opponents.
- The Trojans move to 23-0 when scoring over 70 points, and 22-0 when it keeps opponents to under 70 points.
- This was USC's second-ever Big Ten regular-season title, following women's soccer's title won in the fall.
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