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JuJu Watkins, No. 4 USC women hold off No. 22 Michigan State

February 20, 2025

LOS ANGELES — There weren’t any double-digit deficits to worry about or big fourth-quarter comebacks needed. This was just another defeat of a nationally ranked team to add to USC’s accomplishments this season.

But that’s not to say there weren’t moments of anxiety for the fourth-ranked USC women’s basketball team on Wednesday night in dispatching No. 22 Michigan State, 83-75, at the Galen Center.

The Trojans (24-2 overall, 14-1 Big Ten) held off a fourth-quarter push from the Spartans (19-7, 9-6) to extend their winning streak to five games.

It was this kind of lower-level stress test USC needed after back-to-back emotional contests against crosstown rival and then-top-ranked UCLA and Washington.

USC next faces No. 25 Illinois on Sunday, its eighth ranked opponent this season. The Trojans are 6-1 in those games, having lost to then-No. 20 Mississippi in November.

“This was a great game. Michigan State is really good,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “I think (MSU coach) Robyn (Fralick) has done a phenomenal job, especially coming off a tough loss at UCLA to come in here with the energy that they did.”

While complimentary to her opponent, Gottlieb was even more impressed by the tandem of USC’s all-everything guard JuJu Watkins and impressive forward Kiki Iriafen, who combined for 52 points.

“Kiki and JuJu are the best duo in the country, and they played like it tonight,” Gottlieb said.

There was a hold-your-breath moment late in the second quarter when Watkins went down after colliding with a Michigan State player while going up for a layup. Watkins remained down on the court for several seconds before heading to the locker room while holding her neck.

She emerged a short time later and continued her assault on the Spartans, showing no effects of her fall. She finished with 28 points on 10-of-23 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocked shots.

The hit and fall she took was so inconsequential to Watkins, she had difficulty remembering it after the game.

“Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. My neck, I got my neck tied up a little bit, but I was fine,” she said. “I was in a little bit of shock.”

Gottlieb said she needed a moment after she saw her star laying near the free-throw line with 3:30 left before halftime.

“She’s obviously really tough, she wants to play through anything,” Gottlieb said. “But whenever she came back and said, I’m good to go, that was that.”

Iriafen added 24 points, 15 in the second half. She shot 7 for 13 from the field and 10 for 12 from the free-throw line to go along with 10 rebounds, a stat line that can make teammates drool.

“Who wouldn’t want to play with Kiki?” Watkins asked. “I mean she can create her own shots. All you gotta do is just really get her the ball on the post. So, it makes my life and everybody’s life a lot easier, and she motivates the whole team.”

Trojans center Rayah Marshall added eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Michigan State’s Grace VanSlooten tied a career high with 29 points and grabbed six rebounds, and Julia Ayrault added 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Michigan State, but the Spartans shot just 1 for 13 from 3-point range as a team (compared to USC’s 5-of-15 showing).

The Trojans extended their 10-point halftime lead to 21 points late in the third quarter.

The Spartans, however, capitalized on a series of turnovers and missed shots by USC to make a run in the fourth. Michigan State’s Theryn Hallock scored a layup off one of those turnovers to trim the margin to 72-62 with 6:02 left.

MSU got within 74-68 when a VanSlooten layup capped a 15-4 run with 4:01 left, but a Kennedy Smith jumper followed by a Watkins fast-break layup with 2:51 left helped the Trojans re-establish a double-digit cushion and they closed it out from there.

“We crawled back in the fourth quarter and gave ourselves a chance,” Fralick said. “But USC is a great team. They have size and a lot of talent.”

With the win, the Trojans officially clinched a double-bye into next month’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. They remain in first place in the conference with two regular-season games remaining.

“We can control our own destiny the last two games, but I also think it’s really a testament to our players,” Gottlieb said. “I think conference play is the best test of the consistency of excellence. You got to win when you don’t have it. Some nights you got to win when you’re on the road. When someone’s in a slump, you got to win when officiating goes a certain way. And so, to get this far with two games to go to have earned a top-four seed is something that I’m proud of ’em for.”

The game slowed in the second quarter as the Spartans stepped up their defensive attack and limited the Trojans to 17 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Still, USC led 41-31 at the half as the Trojans did most of their first half scoring in the opening quarter.

The Trojans led 24-16 after one quarter.

Watkins scored 10 of her 17 first-half points in the first quarter, sending her on the way to her 26th double-double of the season.

The game was yet another celebration for one of the most celebrated women’s college players in the country. On Tuesday, the sophomore guard was named one of 39 semifinalists for the Sullivan Award, which honors athletic excellence, leadership, citizenship and sportsmanship.

Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers is the only other women’s college basketball player on the list, which includes Olympians and other elite amateurs.

Watkins had already been named to the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Watch List as well as the Wooden Award Watch List.

Orange County Register

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JuJu Watkins, No. 4 USC women hold off No. 22 Michigan State

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