No. 4 USC overcomes JuJu Watkins at her worst in win over Minnesota

In the waning moments of her worst half at USC, JuJu Watkins put her head down and drove to her left with all she had. She leaned into contact, then suddenly leaped back and let a daring jumper fly.

Nine times she’d missed — from the lane, from midrange, from the corner — without a single bucket. This was the same Trojans star who’d scored fewer than 20 points just twice this season. But as silky smooth as the sequence looked — and as strange as a slump from Watkins seemed — the step-back clanked away, and the buzzer rang on an uncharacteristic 0-for-10 half for one of college basketball’s brightest stars.

Watkins looked up to the scoreboard, perplexed, as if to demand an answer.

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Fortunately for No. 4 USC, it found the answers it needed Thursday, even with Watkins unable to provide her usual resounding performance. A star turn from Trojans forward Kiki Iriafen, along with timely contributions from its fleet of talented freshmen, was plenty to put away Minnesota 82-69, giving USC a 15th straight victory.

This win — in USC’s first game at home in 18 days — didn’t come as smoothly as the others. And for Watkins especially, every step seemed like a struggle early on.

“She handles a lot on her shoulders,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “So I think everyone wants to allow her to be her.”

But this was not the Watkins that USC is accustomed to. Her touch was off. Her drives to the hoop were thwarted. Open shots refused to fall. Watkins fought through the slump in the second half, hitting seven of 14 from the field. But her 29% shooting ranked among her least efficient in two seasons at USC (19-1, 9-0 Big Ten).

Watkins still managed to score 20, 18 of which came in the second half. But her frustration, especially through a subpar first 20 minutes, was evident on her face.

“She’s a very mentally tough human being and basketball player,” Gottlieb said. “She finds a way at some point to figure it out. I believe if she misses five in a row, the next five are going in.”

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Watkins’ struggles weren’t the only setback USC had to overcome. Senior forward Rayah Marshall, USC’s leading rebounder, was ruled out because of an injury before tipoff, leaving USC especially shorthanded on the interior.

With Watkins struggling and Marshall sitting, Iriafen reminded the masses that she too is one of the best players in the sport. With Minnesota focused on Watkins, Iriafen finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, her seventh double-double in arguably her most assertive game as a Trojan.

The forward had set out over the last week to expand her game, after a season spent reluctant to let it fly from three-point range. Iriafen had made only two three-pointers in her previous 19 games.

Gottlieb insisted this week that Iriafen trust her stroke and test the perimeter, especially with defenses clogging the paint to stop Watkins. So Iriafen fired from deep in the opening minutes, sinking one three-pointer, then another on the next possession, adding a whole new dimension to an already devastating offense.

“She’s a focal point of teams’ defenses,” Gottlieb said of Iriafen. “She’s earned that. She’s one of the best players in the country.”

USC’s focal point flipped early and often Thursday. Iriafen came alive in stretches, before Watkins bounced back. Even freshman Avery Howell was essential, knocking down four of USC’s 11 three-pointers to give her a combined 30 points over the last two games.

Still, Minnesota (18-4, 6-4) hung around well into the fourth quarter. The Gophers, who never led, cut the lead to six points with less than eight minutes remaining. But then, Howell sunk a timely three. And on the next possession, Watkins drove toward the hoop.

She shook off one defender before lifting toward the basket. She was fouled. And after a night of rattled rims and clanked jumpers for USC’s star, the unlikely lay-in found the bottom of the net, and the Trojans walked away with another win, this time, in spite of their superstar’s struggles.