No. 3 USC cruises past Santa Clara to remain undefeated

Field Level Media|published: Fri 15th November, 17:52 2024

Southern California guard JuJu Watkins (12) with coach Lindsay Gottlieb during an NCAA women's tournament game against Kansas at Galen Center.

JuJu Watkins scored 22 points and Kiki Iriafen added 20 points, seven rebounds and three steals as No. 3 Southern California remained perfect on the season with an 81-50 victory over visiting Santa Clara at Los Angeles.

Rayah Marshall scored 12 points for the Trojans (4-0), who had just nine turnovers. USC took control early, racing to a 25-13 lead after one quarter by shooting 47.6 percent from the floor and turning seven Santa Clara turnovers into 15 points.

Watkins was right on her 21.3 points-per-game scoring average. She shot 8 of 20 from the floor in the game, even as she went 3 of 10 from 3-point range. USC was just 6 of 28 (21.4 percent) from distance.

Kaya Ingram scored 13 points for the Broncos (2-1), while Olivia Pollerd scored 12 points and Alana Goodchild added 10. Santa Clara committed 23 turnovers.

--Field Level Media