Friday, March 7
Indianapolis, Ind.
9:00 a.m.
USC
27-2,16-1Big Ten
84
vs
79
Indiana
19-12,10-8Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Indiana
18
16
23
22
79
Southern California
23
15
21
25
84
Team Stats
IND
USC
FG%
.397
.468
3FG%
.421
.286
FT%
.926
.645
RB
35
40
TO
15
16
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
31
FGM
10
3FGM
1
FTM
10
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
C/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballPhoto by: Katie Chin
No. 2 USC Women’s Basketball Holds Off Hoosiers For 84-79 Win And Ticket To Big Ten Semifinals
March 07, 2025 | Women's Basketball
JuJu Watkins hits 31 and gets a double-double alongside Kiki Iriafen in win over Indiana in Indianapolis.
INDIANAPOLIS — The No. 2 USC women's basketball team withstood nine lead changes and turned a fourth-quarter two-point margin into an 84-79 victory over Indiana in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen both tallied double-doubles on the day to help lead the Trojans' gutsy effort to win and advance to the semifinals. Top-seeded USC is now 27-2 overall, while Indiana goes to 19-12.
USC had a hot hand in the first frame before cooling a bit in the second, although the Trojans still were out ahead of the Hoosiers 38-34 at halftime. The Trojans had shot 43.8 percent from the floor to edge out Indiana's 41.4 percent at the break, and USC also was up on the boards 20-15. USC stayed on that pace to finish up having outrebounded the Hoosiers 40-35 and wrapping up at 46.8 percent overall offensively. Indiana finished up at 39.7 percent, having hit eight 3-pointers on the day to beat out USC's six threes landed.
USC's JuJu Watkins put up 31 points to lead all scorers while also hauling in 11 rebounds, joined in double-double territory by Kiki Iriafen with 21 points and 10 boards. Avery Howell also hit double figures for the Trojans with 10 points, including a pair of key 3-pointers in her first start as a Trojan. Indiana had four players hit double digits, led by Yarden Garzon's 23 points, which included five of the Hoosiers' eight 3-pointers in the game. Chloe Moore-McNeil added 17 points, Shay Ciezki had 15 points, and Caroline Striplin added 10 for Indiana.
USC opened the second half with Talia von Oelhoffen feeding Watkins for a 40-34 lead, only to see Indiana piece together an 8-0 answer to take back the lead, up 42-40 at 7:55. Iriafen delivered to stop the run and lock things up less than a minute later. Again a see-saw battle ensued before von Oelhoffen drained a key 3-pointer at 4:50 for a 48-46 USC edge. The Trojans would stay out ahead through the close of the third, getting out to a 57-50 advantage across the two-minute mark. The Hoosier reeled USC back in, however, getting to the line as the four count tipped against the Trojans and then netting a late 3-pointer that had the margin at 59-57 USC entering the fourth. With the margin at two still, USC's made a 7-1 move to lead it 71-63 at 5:15. Smith's steal and score delivered that lead for the Trojans — a crucial lift considering Indiana would land a three a minute later and then got to the line on USC's fifth foul of the fourth with 3:38 on the clock. USC answered those tosses with 3-pointers from von Oelhoffen and Watkins to go up 77-68 at 2:42. That score marked Watkins' 30th points of the day, and she'd follow with a rebound to get to a double-double as well. It was a free-throw fest from there, with USC moving ahead 81-73 with 40 seconds to go on a successful visit to the stripe by Malia Samuels. Indiana hit its first score from the floor in almost four minutes with a 3-pointer at 0:25 and netted another with four ticks to go, but USC had held strong enough from the stripe to close out the 84-79 win.
NEXT:
USC advances to the Big Ten Tournament semifinal at 3 p.m. ET tomorrow (March 8) against Michigan. The Big Ten championship game is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday (March 9). All the action is taking place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
NOTABLE:
- With 31 points, SO JuJu Watkins moves to No. 10 all-time in career scoring at USC with 1,635 career points.
- This is Watkins' seventh 30-point game this season and 21st in her career to rank her second all-time in career 30-point games at USC behind Cheryl Miller's 25.
- Watkins has scored in double figures in all 29 games this season and in all but one career game (9 vs. Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship game on March 20, 2024).
- With one 3-pointer made, Watkins has hit at least one three in 28 of USC's last 29 games.
- With 21 points, GS Kiki Iriafen has scored in double digits in 27 of the 28 games she has played this season.
- This is Iriafen's 11th 20-point game.
- With 10 rebounds, Iriafen recorded her 10th double-double of the season.
- With 11 rebounds, Watkins recorded her seventh double-double of the season.
- This was the fourth game this season that Iriafen and Watkins recorded double-doubles in the same game (last was 2/8/2025 vs. Ohio State).
- With two 3-pointers made, FR Avery Howell has recorded at least one three in 16 of 18 games vs. Big Ten opponents.
- Howell has now made 44 threes this season, tied for fourth on USC's all-time freshman single-season list.
- Howell tied her career high in steals with three.
- This is Howell's eighth career game with double-digit scoring.
- With two steals, FR Kennedy Smith has recorded at least one steal in 19 of 22 games played.
- With the win today, USC improved to 27-2, the fifth-most wins in a single season in program history (31 wins twice, 29 wins twice).
- USC is now 24-0 when scoring 70 or more points, 20-0 when outrebounding its opponent this season and 11-1 with three Trojans in double figures.
- Indiana's 79 points was the most points it had scored in a game they did not win since falling 86-85 at Iowa on Feb. 26, 2023.
- Howell made her first career start today.
- SR Rayah Marshall did not play in this game due to illness.
USC had a hot hand in the first frame before cooling a bit in the second, although the Trojans still were out ahead of the Hoosiers 38-34 at halftime. The Trojans had shot 43.8 percent from the floor to edge out Indiana's 41.4 percent at the break, and USC also was up on the boards 20-15. USC stayed on that pace to finish up having outrebounded the Hoosiers 40-35 and wrapping up at 46.8 percent overall offensively. Indiana finished up at 39.7 percent, having hit eight 3-pointers on the day to beat out USC's six threes landed.
USC's JuJu Watkins put up 31 points to lead all scorers while also hauling in 11 rebounds, joined in double-double territory by Kiki Iriafen with 21 points and 10 boards. Avery Howell also hit double figures for the Trojans with 10 points, including a pair of key 3-pointers in her first start as a Trojan. Indiana had four players hit double digits, led by Yarden Garzon's 23 points, which included five of the Hoosiers' eight 3-pointers in the game. Chloe Moore-McNeil added 17 points, Shay Ciezki had 15 points, and Caroline Striplin added 10 for Indiana.
USC manufactured a 7-0 run sparked by a 3-pointer from Kennedy Smith to carve into Indiana's early advantage and edge ahead 9-7 with 5:55 on the clock. The lead would trade hands for the next stretch until USC busted out an 8-0 surge that featured a pair of buckets from JuJu Watkins along with Clarice Akunwafo and Avery Howell's first scores of the day to get a 19-14 advantage on the board with 1:35 to go. Watkins and Kiki Iriafen would both hit for the Trojans in the final minute of the first, and USC gripped a 23-18 lead after 10 minutes of play. USC got out to a 27-18 lead early in the second on back-to-back scores from Smith and Iriafen, but USC would come up empty from the floor aside from free throws while the Hoosiers cut the margin to 31-29. Howell busted out a big 3-pointer to give USC a boost, although Indiana answered right back from distance. Only free throws fell on both ends in the final 1:30, with Watkins going 4-for-4 from the stripe in that span to help USC hold a 38-34 lead at halftime."It took a lot of mental toughness…It was really big for our team to have composure down the stretch."
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) March 8, 2025
After her first career start, @averyhowell44 spoke with @keelyismyname about @USCWBB's gritty quarterfinal win in the @bigten tournament ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/oDYBkDOR9M
USC opened the second half with Talia von Oelhoffen feeding Watkins for a 40-34 lead, only to see Indiana piece together an 8-0 answer to take back the lead, up 42-40 at 7:55. Iriafen delivered to stop the run and lock things up less than a minute later. Again a see-saw battle ensued before von Oelhoffen drained a key 3-pointer at 4:50 for a 48-46 USC edge. The Trojans would stay out ahead through the close of the third, getting out to a 57-50 advantage across the two-minute mark. The Hoosier reeled USC back in, however, getting to the line as the four count tipped against the Trojans and then netting a late 3-pointer that had the margin at 59-57 USC entering the fourth. With the margin at two still, USC's made a 7-1 move to lead it 71-63 at 5:15. Smith's steal and score delivered that lead for the Trojans — a crucial lift considering Indiana would land a three a minute later and then got to the line on USC's fifth foul of the fourth with 3:38 on the clock. USC answered those tosses with 3-pointers from von Oelhoffen and Watkins to go up 77-68 at 2:42. That score marked Watkins' 30th points of the day, and she'd follow with a rebound to get to a double-double as well. It was a free-throw fest from there, with USC moving ahead 81-73 with 40 seconds to go on a successful visit to the stripe by Malia Samuels. Indiana hit its first score from the floor in almost four minutes with a 3-pointer at 0:25 and netted another with four ticks to go, but USC had held strong enough from the stripe to close out the 84-79 win.
NEXT:
USC advances to the Big Ten Tournament semifinal at 3 p.m. ET tomorrow (March 8) against Michigan. The Big Ten championship game is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday (March 9). All the action is taking place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
NOTABLE:
- With 31 points, SO JuJu Watkins moves to No. 10 all-time in career scoring at USC with 1,635 career points.
- This is Watkins' seventh 30-point game this season and 21st in her career to rank her second all-time in career 30-point games at USC behind Cheryl Miller's 25.
- Watkins has scored in double figures in all 29 games this season and in all but one career game (9 vs. Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship game on March 20, 2024).
- With one 3-pointer made, Watkins has hit at least one three in 28 of USC's last 29 games.
- With 21 points, GS Kiki Iriafen has scored in double digits in 27 of the 28 games she has played this season.
- This is Iriafen's 11th 20-point game.
- With 10 rebounds, Iriafen recorded her 10th double-double of the season.
- With 11 rebounds, Watkins recorded her seventh double-double of the season.
- This was the fourth game this season that Iriafen and Watkins recorded double-doubles in the same game (last was 2/8/2025 vs. Ohio State).
- With two 3-pointers made, FR Avery Howell has recorded at least one three in 16 of 18 games vs. Big Ten opponents.
- Howell has now made 44 threes this season, tied for fourth on USC's all-time freshman single-season list.
- Howell tied her career high in steals with three.
- This is Howell's eighth career game with double-digit scoring.
- With two steals, FR Kennedy Smith has recorded at least one steal in 19 of 22 games played.
- With the win today, USC improved to 27-2, the fifth-most wins in a single season in program history (31 wins twice, 29 wins twice).
- USC is now 24-0 when scoring 70 or more points, 20-0 when outrebounding its opponent this season and 11-1 with three Trojans in double figures.
- Indiana's 79 points was the most points it had scored in a game they did not win since falling 86-85 at Iowa on Feb. 26, 2023.
- Howell made her first career start today.
- SR Rayah Marshall did not play in this game due to illness.
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