The Pac-12 freshman of the year fought through Arizona’s physical defense that left her with a welt over her left eyebrow and a bandage on her left arm. The target of every opposing team’s scouting report, Watkins was held to a season-low in scoring during conference play, but had no problem relying on her teammates. Junior Rayah Marshall scored 15 points and 15 rebounds for her third consecutive double-double.
“Our team continues to impress me with finding ways to win,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “I think we’re at our best when we’re getting contributions everywhere. I think we ended up being toughest when toughness was needed.”
USC, which will play UCLA in Friday’s semifinal at 7:30 p.m. PST, busted open a tight, four-point game with eight consecutive points to start the fourth quarter. Only one point during the decisive run came from Watkins.
Graduate transfer McKenzie Forbes made two key threes during the fourth quarter to finish with nine points. Guard Taylor Bigby hit three big three-pointers off the bench during the first half.
Watkins scored just seven points in the final three quarters combined. She arrived just in time to stop Arizona’s comeback attempt. After Arizona’s Jada Williams whittled USC’s lead to three with a three-pointer, Watkins drove into the lane, came to a stop just as Arizona’s Isis Beh tried to step in to draw a charge and contorted her body around the Arizona forward to give USC (24-5) a five-point lead with 22.4 seconds remaining.
“She’s a winning player who cares about winning and takes a lot on her shoulders,” Gottlieb said.
(Ian Maule / Associated Press)
Although Watkins’ 10 points outscored the Wildcats alone during the first quarter, the freshman also had six of USC’s 16 turnovers during the first half. USC, which scored the game’s first 13 points and led 20-9 after the first quarter, opened the second with three consecutive turnovers, including two from Watkins. The Wildcats reeled off six straight points.
Arizona capitalized late in the second quarter during a rare break for Watkins, who went to the bench with 3:32 left. When Breya Cunningham tied the game at 25-25, Watkins stood up from the bench and headed to the scorer’s table. Then Bigby hit a three. Watkins calmly took a seat.
Watkins was five for 14 from the floor. She had nine turnovers. It wasn’t a statistical game that would likely impress the freshman, Gottlieb said. But she still led the team in plus-minus as USC outscored Arizona (17-15) by eight points when she was on the floor in her dynamic debut during the Pac-12’s final tournament before the conference breaks up.
“The only good thing about us not being in the Pac-12 anymore,” said Arizona coach Adia Barnes, whose team will head to the Big 12, “I don’t have to see JuJu too many more times.”
Marshall has notched double-doubles against Arizona in three games this season, including 26 points and 11 rebounds in a double-overtime USC victory last week. While most of the media attention on USC’s rise into the national conversation has gone toward Watkins, Gottlieb called Marshall, a 6-foot-4 junior from Lynwood, the team’s “heart and soul.”
“It’s March, we’re here to win,” Marshall said. “If you don’t have on ‘USC,’ we’re here to compete and win.”
After celebrating with USC’s traveling basketball band, saluting the fight song with a victory sign, Marshall lifted the three letters across her jersey toward the crowd.
