No. 4 Southern California defeated Purdue 79-37 on Wednesday, led by freshman Avery Howell, who scored a season-high 18 points, JuJu Watkins, who added 16 points and seven rebounds, and almost pitched a second-quarter shutout.
The Trojans (18-1, 8-0 Big Ten) won for the fourteenth time in a row after giving up just two points in the second quarter. There have been four conference wins by 20 points or more.
With 10 points, Kendall Puryear led Purdue (7-12, 0-8) in their seventh consecutive defeat.
The Boilermakers took an unexpected 16–10 lead in the first quarter after Destini Lombard scored all eight of her points in the opening four minutes.
However, the Trojans answered with a 31-0 run that continued until 1:57 in the second quarter, when Jordyn Poole made a mid-range jumper to beat the shot-clock buzzer. Purdue never rallied, and Southern Cal led 46–18 at the half.
Kiki Iriafen, the starting forward for USC, injured her ankle during the second quarter and was unable to return. The Trojans, according to coach Lindsay Gottlieb, are hoping it won’t be something “too significant.”
Takeaways
Southern California: The Trojans looked like a top-five team and easily won two double-digit games on their chilly Midwestern journey.
Purdue: Against ranked teams, the Boilermakers fell to 0–9. Purdue’s young team simply isn’t made to hold close against the best teams in the country and the biggest names, even though they started off better than they did against No. 1 UCLA two weeks ago.
Key moment
Purdue committed eight turnovers and went 8 minutes, 2 seconds without scoring.
Key stat
Purdue was 2 of 15 on 3-pointers, while the Trojans were 11 of 30.
Up next
After a well-earned vacation, the Trojans will host No. 23 Minnesota on January 30. Purdue will play Illinois on Monday in an attempt to end its losing streak.