JuJu Watkins was deep in enemy territory. A sea of blue, chants of “airball,” multiple UCLA runs that cut the lead down to single-digits. None of it mattered for LA’s brightest star. With her signature bun and another signature performance, the 6-foot-2 sophomore guard steered No. 4 USC to a convincing 80-67 win which, among other things, earned the Bruins a Big Ten regular-season title.
Watkins loves her home city, but the crowd at Pauley Pavilion did not share her warm feelings. Their heckles only added to the already pressure-filled situation, and yet, Watkins remained stone-faced. She only showed real emotion twice during the game — when freshman Avery Howell knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to give USC a 19-point lead with 7:38 left in the game and again when Watkins blocked consecutive shots later in the fourth quarter. The first time, Watkins flashed a quick smile; the second, she pounded her chest and mean-mugged the baseline camera.
But when Watkins checked out for the final time, less than a minute before her team’s 80-67 win over No. 2 UCLA went final, Watkins reciprocated the crowd’s energy. She saluted the arena, high-fived USC great Cheryl Miller, who was sitting courtside, skipped to the bench and signaled “fours down” to the crowd. It was a fitting exclamation point for an epic performance.
“I heard the fans chanting and that definitely did fire me up,” Watkins said. “I knew when I airballed, I couldn’t help but smile, because I knew what was coming. I love the atmosphere here, even though they aren’t on our side at all. I think it’s really fun.”
Watkins finished with 30 points, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. When the pressure is on and the Trojans need her the most, Watkins does what only the real greats can: She delivers.
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“This is the best player in the country and it’s because of things you all don’t see,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb interrupted while Watkins was taking part in a TV interview. “The poise, the leadership — oh my gosh, unreal.”
That last statement sums up what it’s like to watch Watkins work. Now, she has put on “oh my gosh, unreal” performances twice against UCLA this season.
But unlike in the first meeting, when the sophomore did all the heavy lifting on offense, this time, she had help. Her teammate, 6-foot-3 senior forward Kiki Iriafen, had 17 points and the USC supporting cast all contributed in small ways offensively. Talia von Oelhoffen finished with eight points, Kennedy Smith had seven and Howell had six on the two three-pointers that squashed any semblance of hope UCLA had left.
“The way we won shows the growth of our team,” Gottlieb said. “It literally took every single person. It was a true team effort. UCLA is as good as advertised. We just had to be better to beat them, to beat them twice and to be the champs.”
During the postgame press conference, Gottlieb and Iriafen sported their Big Ten Champions hats. Watkins went without, saying with a smile, “I’m not really a hat person because I’ve got the bun.” She didn’t have on the championship shirt, either, because it got soaked with water during a locker room celebration.
Other than Iriafen, who did it when she played for Stanford, the USC senior class hadn’t won a game in Pauley Pavilion. Getting that win while claiming a Big Ten championship and completing the season sweep as the only team this season to beat UCLA added to the elation. Gottlied made sure to emphasize that she knows her team has more work to do with the Big Ten Tournament and March Madness approaching, she recognized this milestone was well worth celebrating.
“It’s college basketball,” Gottlieb said. “It’s supposed to be fun. I think you have to stop and recognize moments along the way, or you miss the joy of it.”
In the other locker room, there was no joy. UCLA coach Cori Close crumpled up the box score, her cheeks flushed red with anger.
“I’m really pissed off,” Close said. “We are going to have to do some real hard looks in the mirror. It’s a weird dichotomy, because on the one hand, we have a team that has lost two games all year and we have a lot to still play for and we have a lot to be proud of, but at the same time, I’m really angry. We let each other down today.”
There were opportunities, but USC controlled the game from the jump. The Trojans got out to a 9-0 lead while UCLA missed layups on the other end. The Bruins settled in and at the end of the first they were down just 23-20. Then, USC outscored UCLA 23-12 in the second quarter, crushing the Bruins’ momentum.
In the second half, 5-foot-11 junior guard Kiki Rice came out with an aggressive mindset, driving to the hoop and drawing fouls. That was the one advantage UCLA had throughout, as most of the Trojans spent time on the bench with foul trouble and starting guard Talia von Oelhoffen fouled out with 5:11 left in the game. Rice, who finished with a team-high 16 points, ignited a run that pulled UCLA within five points with 3:41 left in the third quarter. That was another chance. But like the first time, USC extinguished any building energy. By the time the fourth quarter started, USC was up 64-51.
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“We turned the ball over, we didn’t execute the scout and we didn’t do what we were supposed to do on offense or defense,” Rice said of her team’s inability to complete the comeback. “Those were just mental errors. They didn’t do anything to prevent us from running our offense. We just made bad decisions.”
Whether they want it or not, the Bruins might get another chance to correct those bad decisions. UCLA didn’t lose to anyone else in the Big Ten and USC only dropped one contest, a fluke 76-69 loss to Iowa. All signs point to a second rematch in the Big Ten Tournament. The Bruins want to be ready.
“I know what my team is capable of,” 6-foot junior guard Gabriela Jaquez said. “I know we will fix what we need to fix, because it’s March and the time is now.”
