Twenty-eight minutes passed in painful succession, two top-10 teams slogging their way through the mud, when a frustrated JuJu Watkins took off toward the basket, desperate to finally see a shot fall. To that point, well into the third quarter, it had been a nightmarish night for the USC star. All 11 of her previous attempts had clanked away or rimmed out or missed altogether, a slump eerily reminiscent of the 0-for-10 start that struck unexpectedly against Minnesota on Jan. 30.

With talent up and down the roster, the Trojans have proven themselves capable of soldiering on without their star at her best. The stakes were higher, though, up against No. 8 Ohio State, their first of two top-10 matchups in a row. And USC’s recent issues on offense, starting with their sophomore star, didn’t resolve themselves Saturday.

But Watkins, as she’s been wont to do, kept pushing. And with Ohio State cutting USC’s lead to just seven, she drove once again — and finally watched a bucket fall. The dam broke after that, as the Trojans pulled away for an 84-63 win over Ohio State, notching their third top-10 win of the season.

Watkins would still finish with 17 points, hitting five of her final 10 from the field. But amid her struggles, USC (21-2 overall, 11-1 Big Ten) turned elsewhere to keep Ohio State at bay.

Kiki Iriafen once again proved to be a stabilizing force, finishing with 24 points and 13 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Freshman guard Kennedy Smith tallied her own double-double, her first at USC, with 13 points and 13 rebounds. And senior Rayah Marshall was a stalwart in the lane again, blocking four shots and adding eight rebounds.

USC guard JuJu Watkins, right, takes control of a loose ball in front of Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon in the second half Saturday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

With Watkins struggling, all five of USC’s starters scored at least eight points, and four finished in double figures.

But in a gritty, physical effort from the Trojans, their defense and work on the glass ruled the day. USC held Ohio State (20-3, 9-3) to just 29% shooting, its worst effort from the field this season, and dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Buckeyes by a stunning margin of 62-30.

That would suffice Saturday. But with top-ranked UCLA coming to Galen Center in five days, USC still has some soul-searching to do with its stagnant offense.

USC’s struggles on offense persisted early on. Drives to the basket were denied. Gimmes around the basket bricked. Errant passes flew out of bounds. Sixteen minutes in, the Trojans had more turnovers (eight) than field goals (seven).

No one looked more out of sorts than Watkins, who came into Saturday’s matchup shooting just 33% over her past three games. She again found herself mired in an early slump. But for the second time in four games, the halftime buzzer would sound without Watkins making a single bucket from the field.

As the final seconds of the half ticked down, Watkins got a rebound and took off sprinting toward the basket. But the clock would beat her there. As the buzzer sounded, she got tangled and tripped.

USC picked itself back up in the second half, as did Watkins, skating past another top-10 team, with its suffocating defense to thank for it.