A first-round bye wasn’t enough to stop the momentum of USC’s successful road trip at the Arizona schools last week. The Trojans extended their hot streak with a 65-62 quarterfinal win against Arizona Thursday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Even after only ten points and eight turnovers in the second quarter, the Trojans maintained their lead until midway through the third, when Arizona scored back-to-back layups. Only a couple minutes later, a 12-2 USC run, including six made free throws, helped secure the Trojans’ lead until the final buzzer. Despite an inconsistent day, a layup by freshman guard JuJu Watkins in the final 30 seconds helped seal it.
“I think I was impressed the most that she had missed the last couple before that and she just — she knows when it’s winning time and we rely on her,” head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said of Watkins. “I thought we ended up being toughest when toughness was needed. I’m grateful we get to play again tomorrow.”
The Trojans came onto the court with guns blazing. A strong defensive front, including junior center Rayah Marshall, kept the Wildcats off the scoreboard for the first 5:45.
Watkins, the newly crowned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, also had a valuable offensive presence in the first quarter, scoring 10 and bringing the team to an 11-point lead.
Then, the momentum came to a screeching halt. Arizona outscored USC in each of the final three quarters, showing just how valuable that first-quarter advantage was for the Trojans.
USC put up some big numbers in the second quarter, but not all were the good kind. The team scored half as many points as the first quarter and tallied 16 turnovers by halftime. Watkins didn’t make a field goal and turned the ball over four times in the period. She would go on to finish with nine turnovers, her second-most of the season; Watkins also had just 17 points, much less than her season-long average of nearly 28.
Gottlieb acknowledged that Watkins’ hard-fought 35 minutes were about more than the stat sheet.
“The poise that she operates with helps our team, the competitiveness helps our team,” Gottlieb said. “The way she interacts with her teammates. I think they have her back and she has theirs … all things that are really, really impressive.”
The Trojans cleaned up their act in the second half, cutting their turnovers down to five. Marshall also stepped up with 10 points after the half, finishing the game with a 15-point, 15-rebound double-double.
“As good as [Marshall] was defensively last year, she’s better this year … she’s really good but also quarterbacks us,” Gottlieb said. “Last year, she was just really good and knew what she was doing. But now she knows what everyone’s doing, which is a huge growth.”
While Marshall consistently provides on the court as the team’s leading rebounder, her day-to-day awareness and insight are invaluable to the growth of her teammates.
Another noticeable presence was graduate guard McKenzie Forbes, who ended the night with nine points, four rebounds and five assists.
“I think in every game I’m coming in, my role might change depending on who we’re playing or what kind of coverages they’re in,” Forbes said. “But I try to adapt as best as I can on the fly, make sure I’m always in communication with Coach G and getting people where they need to be, getting the ball where it needs to go.”
One of Forbes’ greatest assets is her adaptability, which allows her to efficiently execute in almost any position.
USC will battle crosstown rival UCLA on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at MGM Grand Garden Arena for a spot in the Pac-12 tournament championship on Sunday.