No. 4 Southern California defeated No. 23 Michigan 78-58 on Sunday night in the Trojans’ Big Ten home opener, led by 31 points by JuJu Watkins, who made 13 of 14 free throws.
Watkins recorded three thefts, three blocks, five rebounds, and seven assists. The Trojans (12-1, 2-0) scored 18 points from Kiki Iriafen. When the Trojans defeated Michigan 21-9 in the fourth quarter, the two of them scored USC’s first 16 points.
Jordan Hobbs led Michigan (10-3, 1-1) with 19 points. Olivia Olson had eleven, and Greta Kampschroeder added fourteen.
Takeaways
Michigan: This season, the Wolverines have lost to all three of their ranked opponents, including then-No. 1 South Carolina, by a margin of six points. On Wednesday, they will get another opportunity to play the best team at UCLA.
USC: Iriafen returned in the fourth after serving four fouls while on the bench. In addition to providing strong defense in the low post, she scored the Trojans’ first eight points to increase their lead to 18 points.
Key moment
Hobbs scored 14 points in a succession, including four 3-pointers in a row, to help the Wolverines trail 34-31 at the half with Michigan down 10 points.
Key stat
The Trojans made 13 of 14 free throws in the third quarter when they were behind by two points, and they were 20 of 23 from the line going into the fourth quarter.
Up next
On Wednesday, USC hosts Nebraska while Michigan travels to top-ranked UCLA.
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