JuJu Watkins helps USC hold off Baylor, advance to the Elite Eight

USC star JuJu Watkins looks to shoot as Baylor guards Jada Walker (11) and Aijha Blackwell defend during the first half Saturday.

(Steve Dykes / Associated Press)

PORTLAND, Ore. — As USC lined up for the opening tip of its Sweet 16 matchup against Baylor, a fan sitting two rows up from the court at Moda Center held up a plain white sign reading in black marker, “JUJU N ’EM.” JuJu Watkins cracked a grin at the sight.

Yes, the freshman led the way with 30 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots and four assists, but she didn’t stand out alone in USC’s 74-70 win over No. 5-seeded Baylor in the Portland 3 Regional semifinal on Saturday.

McKenzie Forbes scored 14 and Rayah Marshall had an 11-point, 16-rebound double-double to help propel the top-seeded Trojans to their first Elite Eight since 1994, where they will play No. 3 Connecticut or No. 7 Duke on Monday.

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USC 74, Baylor 70, final

Sarah Andrews was guarded by JuJu Watkins, who need time to get an open look with the help fo a screen. She missed.

Rayah Marshall rebounded the ball and was fouled.

She hit one of two free throws to give USC a 74-70 lead with 7.5 seconds left.

Baylor called timeout to advance the ball.

Dre’Una Edwards put up a three and missed. The ball was tipped and went out of bonds. The officials reviewed whether it was last touched by USC or Baylor.

USC was awarded the ball and ran out the clock.

Watkins finished with 30 points, including 12 key free throws.

USC 73, Baylor 70 with 19.5 seconds left

JuJu Watkins was tripled teamed and McKenzie Davis, who lost her shoe, got it back on and got open under the basket, but she missed the shot.

The officials said it should be USC ball after it went out of bounds and the play was reviewed.

USC leads 69-67 with 29.3 seconds left.

It remained USC ball after a very long review. The Trojans got the ball into Walkins and Baylor fouled her with two seconds left on the shot clock.

The freshman hit both.

Baylor called timeout to advance the ball and Sarah Andrews hit a three pointer off the glass.

USC then called timeout to advance the ball.

The Trojans lead 71-70 with 22.8 seconds left.

USC got the ball to Watkins, who was fouled with 19.5 seconds left.

The freshman hit both.

Baylor called timeout to advance the ball.

USC 69, Baylor 67, 53.5 left in fourth quarter

Sarah Andrews missed a jumper and JuJu Watkins blocked a shot.

Watkins got the rebound and USC won a jump ball.

Kayla Padilla missed a three pointer and Baylor got possession after the ball went out of bounds.

Baylor’s shot was off target, Baylor’s Sarah Andrews stole the ball on the ensuing possession, but her shot was blocked by Watkins.

Baylor missed a jumper and USC could not score on the next trip up the floor.

The teams traded more missed shots.

At the 6:05 mark, Padilla was called for a foul and Jada Walker hit one of two free throws.

Watkins missed a three pointer and Baylor missed a three of its own but Aijha Blackwell grabbed the rebound and scored to take the lead.

Watkins drove inside and wanted a foul call on the miss, but none was called.

Walker hit a mid-range jumper to extend Baylor’s lead.

Kaitlyn Davis scored in side to trim the lead.

Walker made another jumper.

Watkins passed to Davis inside, who was fouled. Davis hit one of two free throws.

Baylor missed and Watkins passed to Clarice Akunwafo for a bucket inside to tie the game.

Walker missed a layup and Watkins drove the ball up the floor, hitting a layup as she was fouled. She hit the free throw to give USC a 67-64 lead.

Watkins blocked a shot and USC gained possession after the ball was tipped out of bounds.

Watkins shot a three that was way off target with 2:42 remaining.

Baylor put up an air ball from three after heavy defensive pressure from USC with 2:12 left.

Watkins was fouled driving to the basket with 1:49 left.

Watkins hit both free throws.

Andrews hit a three pointer to cut the USC lead to two at the 1:38 mark.

Andrews stole the ball and was fouled by Forbes with 1:10 left.

Willliams was called for a foul and Baylor inbounded the ball.

The Bears’ Dre’Una Edwards was called for an offensive foul, with Davis taking the charge.

USC then called timeout.

USC 59, Baylor 57, 8:58 left in the fourth quarter

Baylor missed a layup and had a shot blocked to open the fourth quarter.

Kayla Padilla drove to the basket and made a jumper while getting fouled. She hit the free throw.

After a Baylor miss from long range, McKenzie Forbes hit a three pointer in transition and the Bears called timeout.

Baylor guard Jada Walker, right, drives to the basket in front of USC guard McKenzie Forbes during the first half.

(Howard Lao / Associated Press)

Baylor 57, USC 53, end of third quarter

Rayah Marshall hit a layup, Baylor missed a jumper and McKenzie Forbes scored inside while getting fouled. She missed the free throw.

USC got a stop and Forbes was called for an offensive foul on the other end. It was Forbes’ second foul.

Dre’Una Edwards hit a three pointer to tie the game at 53.

Baylor was called for a foul on the next possession. USC missed a shot inside and could not get the rebound.

Jada Walker hit a jumper to give Baylor back the lead.

Watkins missed a three pointer and USC could not get control of the rebound.

Walker then drove inside for a layup and Walkins’ shot was blocked as time expired.

USC guard JuJu Watkins grabs the ball as Baylor’s Jada Walker (11), Aijha Blackwell, left, and Jana Van Gytenbeek defend during the first half.

(Steve Dykes / Associated Press)

Baylor 50, USC 49 with 2:53 left in third

Baylor’s Bella Fontleroy hit a three pointer to cut the USC lead to two.

Baylor and USC traded missed shots.

JuJu Watkins missed from outside nad Kaitlyn Davis got the offensive rebound but missed the put back.

Sarah Andrews hit a three pointer that erased the USC 11-point lead.

USC guard JuJu Watkins (12) shoots over Baylor guard Bella Fontleroy during the first half.

(Steve Dykes / Associated Press)

USC 49, Baylor 44, 4:52 left in third quarter

USC won the jump ball to open the third quarter.

JuJu Watkins missed a jumper and Baylor’s Darianna Littlepage-Buggs missed the Bears’ first shot.

Kaitlyn Davis hit a layup and Littlepage-Buggs countered with a jumper.

McKenzie Forbes missed a hot and Alijha Blackwell scored inside.

Davis hit another layup and Littlepage-Buggs hit a jumper.

Watkins then hit a three pointer, her first of the game. She has 18.

Littlepage-Buggs hit another jumper and Watkins knocked down another three.

Blackwell missed on a spin move inside and USC missed before Sarah Andrews hit a three.

Watkins found Rayah Marshal inside for an open layup.

Baylor turned the ball over and Marshall missed a layup. USC got the rebound, triggering the TV timeout.

USC 37, Baylor 31, halftime

Ryah Marshal hit a layup off an assist from JuJu Watkins.

Baylor missed two shots before McKenzie Forbes was called for a foul.

The Bears’ Sarah Andrews hit a layup and USC called timeout leading 32-24 with three minutes left in the second quarter.

Watkins missed a jumper and Baylor’s Jada Walker was later called for a foul.

Watkins hit two free throws and Baylor missed another shot before Walker was called for another foul. Watkins went back to the line and hit one of two free throws to extend the lead.

Aijha Blackwell hit a layup for Baylor, Watkins missed a jumper and then admonished herself for fouling the Bears.

Jana Van Gytenbeek hit two free throws for Baylor, trimming USC’s lead to 35-28.

Kayla Padilla missed a jumper. Baylor missed a shot, got the offensive rebound and Blackwell hit a three pointer to extend a 7-0 run.

Watkins shot was blocked by Dre’Una Edwards, ho then turned the ball over.

Taylor Bigby put up a shot wildly off target, but Padilla got the offensive rebound and hit a jumper.

Blackwell turned the ball over and Watkins missed a three pointer she put up while being double teamed. Baylor rebounded the ball with two seconds left and time expired.

Baylor guard Sarah Andrews, left, controls the ball in front of USC guard JuJu Watkins during the first half Saturday.

(Howard Lao / Associated Press)

USC 30, Baylor 22, 4:21 left in second quarter

USC’s Dre’Una Edwards scored inside before the Trojans and Baylor traded missed shots. McKenzie Forbes was called for a foul and Baylor’s Yaya Felder hit two free throws.

JuJu Watkins scored on the next USC possession.

Baylor missed and Watkins grabbed a rebound. She missed a layup inside and USC missed the putback.

The Bears got the ball back and the Trojans’ Kaitlyn Davis was called for the foul.

Felder made one of two free throws.

Then USC mounted a run.

Baylor picked up two fouls during USC’s next possession, one non-shooting. It put USC into the bonus. Forbes hit two free throws, to push USC’s lead to 24-19.

Baylor’s Dre’Una Edwards responded by hitting a wide open three pointer.

USC’s Marshall picked her dribble while getting double teamed inside and had no one to throw to before traveling.

The Trojans got a stop on the next possession.

Forbes missed a jumper and tipped it back in. After a Baylor miss from three and got the offensive rebound, Watkins blocked a shot, pushed the ball up the floor and was fouled. She hit both free throws.

Baylor missed, Watkins missed a long jumper and the Trojans scored off the offensive rebound to extend its biggest lead.

USC center Rayah Marshall, left, and guard JuJu Watkins greet one another on the court during the first half Saturday.

(Howard Lao / Associated Press)

USC 18, Baylor 16, end of first quarter

JuJu Watkins missed a bucket inside off a back-door play following the timeout.

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs hit a jump on the next play.

Watkins squared up and missed a three pointer. USC vied for the rebound, but lost the ball out of bounds.

Baylor missed a three and USC’s Rayah Marshall missed a long jumper.

After both teams missed shots, Kayla Padilla knocked down a three pointer to tie th game.

Dre’Una Edwards was fouled and hit one of two free throws.

Watkins hit a jumper on the next play to push her tally to eight.

Baylor added a bucket forced a USC turnover in the paint, but missed a three pointer.

McKenzie Forbes hit a three pointer, but Baylor immediately drove inside to score.

Watkins dribbled at the top of the paint in the final minute of the quarter and was fouled. Forbes hit a long jumper after the inbound.

USC’s Williams went for ball that was bobbled at the top of the Baylor key and was called for the foul. Baylor missed two shots before time expired.

Baylor 9, UCLA 8, 4:55 left in first quarter

Sarah Andrews hit a three pointer for Baylor, then the Bears’ Jada Walker stole the ball from Kayla Padilla and converted it into a layup.

Trailing 7-2, USC’s Rayah Marshall blocked a shot and later scored inside. USC was fouled after the shot and JuJu Watkins scored inside. Watkins has four early points after hitting the Trojans’ first shot of the game.

USC and Baylor traded two more inside buckets, giving the Bears the 9-8 edge with five minutes left in the first quarter. Baylor got a stop, but the Bears’ Aijha Blackwell was called for an offensive foul that triggered the media timeout.

USC and Baylor pushed the tempo immediately and are tied 2-2 early in the first quarter.

After a win over Kansas to reach the Sweet 16, USC star JuJu Watkins says 6-foot-6 teammate Clarice Akunwafo can play ‘against any big in the country.’

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

Lindsay Gottlieb paused to collect her thoughts. How could she summarize Clarice Akunwafo’s career highs in blocked shots and steals on the biggest stage of USC’s season?

“Clarice,” the USC coach said, “is something else.”

Not only was the 6-foot-6 center a defensive trump card that stymied Kansas in an NCAA tournament second-round victory that sent USC to its first Sweet 16 since 1994, but the Inglewood native is also helping the Trojans establish themselves as a national championship contender while pursuing a career in medicine. She hopes to become a surgeon after basketball.

Working with USC staff to incorporate her grueling class schedule with practices and games while loading up her academic schedule during the summer, Akunwafo admits balancing the demands of athletics and academics hasn’t been easy. Freshman year was bad, she emphasized. Yet rebuilding a fallen dynasty on the court isn’t simple either. With belief from her coaches and teammates, Akunwafo seems especially fit for both tasks.

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VIDEO | 09:55

What makes USC’s JuJu Watkins so good? Jewell Loyd breaks it down

Seattle Storm shooting guard Jewell Loyd provides a strategic breakdown of some of USC freshman guard JuJu Watkins’ best plays this season.

He’s her favorite player. When LeBron James sat courtside at a recent USC women’s basketball game, the Lakers star showed that JuJu Watkins is rising up his list, too.

“She’s the next greatest thing in women’s basketball,” James said two days after he watched USC dismantle UC Riverside with Watkins scoring 27 points in 29 minutes.

The top-ranked player in her recruiting class is living up to all the hype. USC’s star freshman ranks second in the country in scoring, is drawing larger and larger crowds to Galen Center and has put her hometown Trojans in the national conversation for the first time in decades.

In the current era of female college basketball star — headlined by names such as Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark — Watkins could soon shine brighter than all of them. But the Watts native’s true power is greater than basketball.

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USC’s Rayah Marshall has warmed up to the NCAA tournament.

(David Becker / Associated Press)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The lights shining behind Rayah Marshall on the dais at Moda Center were almost blinding. The 6-foot-4 USC forward just walked by a bracket printed on a poster that stood taller than her head. She was getting ready for practice on the court in an NBA arena.

But even as the biggest stage she’s played on gets larger with each week, Marshall insists she’s got nothing to be stressed about.

“We live in L.A. There’s so much to be happy about,” the Lynwood native said with an innocent grin. “We come outside to palm trees and it’s sunny. We have fun doing what we do. We compete.… And I mean, when you’re winning, it’s a ton of fun.”

USC’s ability to keep its joy while playing with urgency amid mounting postseason pressure has led to the program’s most successful stretch in decades. In the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1994, the top-seeded Trojans face No. 5 Baylor in the Portland 3 regional semifinal Saturday at 2:30 p.m. PDT (ESPN). The winner plays No. 3 Connecticut or No. 7 Duke in the regional final Sunday.

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USC’s Kayla Williams, left, and Kayla Padilla, second from left, celebrate after the Trojans defeat top-seeded Stanford to claim the women’s Pac-12 tournament title on March 10.

(Ian Maule / Associated Press)

The Trojans weren’t the only ones leaving MGM Grand Garden Arena as major winners Sunday night.

Amid the celebration of USC’s first Pac-12 tournament title since 2014, a fan shouted at USC forward Rayah Marshall that the Trojans, 8.5-point underdogs to top-seeded Stanford, had just won him $10,000. Marshall shouted back: “Fight on!”

“We’re in Vegas,” the junior said afterward. “Anything is possible.”

But USC‘s rapid rise from forgotten powerhouse to Pac-12 champion is not just a lucky run. Third-year coach Lindsay Gottlieb has been stacking up wins behind the scenes, from recruiting to strength and conditioning, that Marshall credited as “a culture shift” leading the Trojans back into the national spotlight.

“It’s a reflection of our success on the floor,” Marshall said.

“Now literally we just won,” the junior forward said before correcting herself, “she just won the last Pac-12 championship.”

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USC guard India Otto, left, celebrates with teammates JuJu Watkins, center, and McKenzie Forbes after scoring during the Trojans’ win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the first round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

India Otto heard the chants before she got the call.

“We want Otto!” the Galen Center crowd started yelling. “We want Otto!”

With less than two minutes to go in USC’s opening game of the NCAA tournament on Saturday, the fifth-year guard unzipped her warmup jacket to reveal her white No. 2 jersey. When coach Lindsay Gottlieb motioned for Otto to check in, the crowd grew even louder.

On the biggest stage, the walk-on from Windward got her shining moment, scoring five quick points in the final minutes of USC’s 87-55 victory over Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The top-seeded Trojans advanced to host No. 8 seed Kansas (20-12) at 7 p.m. Monday in the second round of the Portland 3 bracket.

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The best recruit in the country has lived up to every ounce of hype. The Ivy League transfers have made the transition look seamless. But even as a new-look roster led USC to its first Sweet 16 since 1994, head coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s most critical offseason acquisition might be the coach leaning over a black clipboard at the end of the bench.

Kelly Dormandy is the muscle behind USC’s resurgence.

The first-year director of sports performance is a culture-setting strength coach, mad sports scientist and vocal advocate for her athletes. On-court coaches have NCAA-mandated limits on how many hours they can spend with athletes during the offseason, which often makes strength coaches the staff member whom players are around most frequently. They are almost as responsible for setting a program’s foundation as the head coach.

In Dormandy, the Trojans have “the best in the business,” Gottlieb said.

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USC guard JuJu Watkins celebrates after the Trojans’ win over Kansas in the second round of the NCAA tournament on March 25.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

On her first possession of her first game in her first dance, Judea Skies Watkins lost the ball.

She dribbled directly into the hands of the Texas A&M Corpus Christi defense. She froze. She glared. She winced.

You know what that means.

It’s JuJu Time.

The coolest collegiate women’s basketball player on the planet routinely produces plays so picturesque, every smudge is briefly met with a pained annoyance that inspires her to retrieve the brush and swirl anew.

“I gave myself a little grace,” the USC wunderkind said. “It was like, the first play, I haven’t played in two weeks, OK, let me get it back.”

Oh, she got it back, all of it, and then some.

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