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LAS VEGAS, NEV. - The No. 21 USC women's basketball team notched its first season-opening win over a ranked opponent since 1990 with an upset victory over No. 7 Ohio State today at the Hall of Fame Series at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. That 1990 upset win came over a No. 7 Texas team, with Trojan great Lisa Leslie delivering 30 points in her freshman debut at USC. Fitting, then, that today's statement win by the Women of Troy featured a 32-point effort from true freshman JuJu Watkins. Leslie and Watkins both were named Gatorade National Players of the Year as seniors in high school before signing on to USC.
Up 46-28 at halftime, USC was shooting 51.4 percent from the floor in those first 20 minutes, with JuJu Watkins holding 16 points and Rayah Marshall already at a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds by the break. Ohio State, which made just two field goals in the second quarter while winding up at 29.6 percent shooting the first half. The Buckeyes would bounce back, however, benefitting from a swaying foul count and almost matching USC's second-quarter effort in outscoring USC 30-10 in the third. A stalwart effort from the Trojans would pull them back ahead in the fourth, fending off the No. 7 Buckeyes to win the day in Vegas. USC finished out the game shooting 51 percent overall to outpace Ohio State's 40-percent effort. USC also outrebounded the Buckeyes 43-28.
Led by freshman Watkins' game-high 32 points, USC also saw Marshall net her 21st career double-double with a final 18 points and 17 rebounds. Marshall also extended her impressive blocks streak to 52 straight games with two more tallied today, and added a career-high six steals. Also hitting double digits for the Trojans was McKenzie Forbes with 11 while Kaitlyn Davis added nine rebounds for USC and Watkins dished out five assists. Ohio State was paced by Jacy Sheldon's 28 points along with 16 from Taylor Thierry.
After trailing by seven points during the first quarter, USC turned the tables on Ohio State in the second. Las Vegas native Taylor Bigby buried 3-pointers around a couple Buckeye free throws to provide a spark for the Trojan offense, which took Bigby's second bomb and stretched it into a 13-0 scoring surge. Rayah Marshall and Juju Watkins tagteamed it for 10 straight USC points, as Marshall worked her way into a double double and picked up a pair of key steals. Watkins' defense also helped fuel the USC attack, which got out ahead 30-20 just five minutes into the second quarter. Ohio State found its first score from the floor next, but the Trojans kept pushing. Grad transfers Kaitlyn Davis and McKenzie Forbes tallied their first points as Trojans in that frame, and Watkins hit Marshall for a strike that pushed USC ahead 46-27 with 10 ticks to go in the half. The Buckeyes hit the front end of a late trip to the stripe, and USC was up 46-28 at the break.
The Buckeyes benefitted from the foul count tipping against the Trojans in the third, as USC was tagged with 10 fouls in the frame while Ohio State went 12-of-14 from the stripe in those 10 minutes. Eight straight Buckeye free throws and a bucket from the floor accounted for a 10-0 run that carved USC's lead down to single digits. Watkins drained two tosses on USC's first visit to the line of the quarter to make it 55-44, but the Buckeyes manufactured another rally on a 12-0 run to edge into the lead. Entering the final quarter, Ohio State was gripping a 58-56 advantage.
USC was undeterred, however, and even with Watkins carrying four fouls thanks to the tough third frame, the Trojans corrected their course. Two big buckets from Marshall out of the gates were a lift, and then McKenzie Forbes stepped up with a three-point play and then a 3-pointer to answer a couple Buckeye scores and net a 65-62 USC lead. Kayla Padilla would snag a steal, and then Watkins converted a three-point play of her own to take the Trojans ahead 69-62 with 6:39 on the clock. USC stayed gritty the rest of the way, allowing the Buckeyes to get no closer than five points away. An athletic aerial putback from Davis lifted USC up 76-68, and the Trojans would hold their ground through the last stretch. For good measure, Watkins delivered her 32nd points of the night with a take to the hoop with four ticks to go - beating out Lisa Leslie's freshman opener tally of 30 points back in 1990, which was also the last time that USC kicked off a season with a win over a ranked opponent.
NEXT:
USC turns to set up camp back at Galen Center and prep for the Trojans' home opener, which brings Florida Gulf Coast to town for the first-ever meeting with the USC women. The Trojans and Eagles face off at 7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 10) on a night that will also feature a celebration of the 40th anniversary of USC's back-to-back NCAA Championships.