No. 9 USC vs No. 2 UCLA | Pac-12 | 1.14.24

LOS ANGELES — USC vs UCLA

In front of record-setting sellout crowd at Galen Center the No. 9 USC handed No. 2 UCLA its first loss of the season, beating the rival Bruins 73-65. Freshman JuJu Watkins churned out 32 points for the Trojans, who improve to 13-1 overall and to 4-1 in Pac-12 play in avenging its only loss of the season. The win also marked the Trojans' second victory over a top-10 opponent this season — a feat last achieved in 1993-94. UCLA is now 14-1, 3-1.

USC's defense forced 15 turnovers out of the Bruins in the first half of action as the Trojans built out a 34-19 lead at the break, turning a one-point game into a double-digit lead with a 15-0 rally in the second quarter. USC was shooting 36.4 percent by halftime to outpace UCLA's 30.4 percent, and the teams were even on the boards 18-18 and from 3-point range at 3-of-11 each. USC's JuJu Watkins and McKenzie Forbes had combined for 27 of USC's 34 first-half points. USC would stay out in front, shrugging off a 9-0 UCLA run to allow the Bruins to get no closer than four points away as the Trojans wrapped up a 73-65 victory over their rivals. USC finished up shooting 41.5 percent from the floor to UCLA's final 40 percent overall. The Bruins had a 34-33 edge on the boards but committed 22 turnovers to USC's 17. From the free-throw line, USC went 24-of 32, and UCLA was 17-of-21.

Watkins led the way with her third double-double, netting 32 points with 10 rebounds and setting a USC record with a 16-of-16 effort from the free-throw line. Forbes also finished in double digits with 18 points for the Trojan cause, and Kayla Padilla added 13. UCLA was led by Charisma Osborne's 25 points, with Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez scoring 10 points each, while Angela Dugalic pulled in 10 rebounds for the Bruins.

Both teams were struggling to score from the floor as the first quarter unfurled. USC was getting to the free-throw line, though, and a pair of tosses from Watkins nudged USC ahead 9-6 with 1:43 on the clock. USC's Forbes lit the fuse for the Trojans in unleashing back-to-back 3-pointers in a 30-second span, lifting USC ahead 15-6. UCLA would break almost six minutes of scoring silence with a late bucket in the paint, and USC gripped a 15-8 lead after 10 minutes of action. The Bruins landed their first threes of the day in the first three minutes of the second, only to see USC's interruptive defense stifle UCLA while striking off on a 15-0 run to lead it 32-16 at 1:32. The Bruins, meanwhile, came up empty for over six minutes before finding a 3-pointer at 1:10. USC had the last word with a Watkins putback, and USC led it 34-19 for halftime.

UCLA manufactured the first six points of the second half before the Trojans kicked into gear with a score from Clarice Akunwafo on a feed from Watkins and then a nice strike from Watkins to make it a 38-25 USC lead at 6:45. Watkins made it an answering 6-0 surge with a successful trip to the line, getting herself to 20 points and getting USC a 40-25 advantage at 5:30. UCLA carved the deficit down to single digits at 43-35 with 3:26 on the clock, prompting Forbes and Watkins to get back to business, with Forbes scoring in the paint and Watkins converting two more free throws. After a Bruin bucket, Watkins nailed a long jumper, and USC was up 49-37 at 1:45. UCLA got a late trip to the line, making one toss to get the score to 51-42 USC entering the fourth. It was a back-and-forth battle down the stretch. Forbes and Padilla nailed key threes for the Trojans to net a 63-50 lead with 5:00 on the clock before the Bruins pieced together a 9-0 rally to make it 63-59 at 2:30. Watkins delivered an answering bucket to notch her 30th points of the day and nudge USC ahead 65-59 10 seconds later. Akunwafo delivered a block on the defensive end, and then Taylor Bigby struck down low, making it 67-59 USC at 1:38. It was a four-point game with 54 ticks to go, but USC stood its ground. Akunwafo hit the back end of at visit to the line at 34 seconds, and UCLA would miss on its next tries, then sent Padilla to the line for two successful tosses to tug the Trojans ahead 70-63 with 14 seconds left. UCLA got it to 70-65 with 12 ticks to go, but USC wrapped things up from the free-throw line to close out a hard-fought 73-65 win over its rival.

NEXT:
USC sets off for its first out-of-state Pac-12 adventure next week, heading to Salt Lake City to visit Utah in a 6 p.m. meeting on Friday (Jan. 19) before going to Boulder to take on Colorado at 12 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 21).