Despite being outscored by 11 points in the second half, the USC Trojans women were able to hold off UConn for a 72-70 victory on the road on Saturday night.
USC star JuJu Watkins was sensational as she always is, finishing the game with 25 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Kiki Iriafen was the only other USC player in double figures for the game.
UConn had two of its players combine for 44 of the team’s 70 points for the game. Sarah Strong and Paige Bueckers scored 22 points each. Strong added 13 rebounds, five assists and four steals.
The double-double for Strong was her third this season, and the 20+ point game for Bueckers was her eighth time this season and fourth straight game scoring more than 20 points.
These two teams are amongst the best in all of women’s college basketball. The duos of Bueckers-Strong and Watkins-Iriafen will carry these teams a long way come March.
Some key factors for each team would be Ashlynn Shade (8.8 points per game, 44.2 3P%) for UConn and Rayah Marshall (8 points per game, 8.8 rebounds per game) for USC.
If either of those players can become a strong third option for their respective teams, we will be seeing both USC and UConn in the Elite Eight at minimum, if not the national championship.