Friday, November 15
Los Angeles, Calif.
12:00 p.m.
USC
4-0,0-0Big Ten
81
vs
50
Santa Clara
2-1,0-0WCC
1
2
3
4
F
Santa Clara
13
13
12
12
50
Southern California
25
14
22
20
81
Team Stats
SCU
USC
FG%
.352
.451
3FG%
.294
.214
FT%
.500
.733
RB
35
37
TO
23
9
STL
4
14
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
C/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballPhoto by: Katie Chin
No. 3 USC Women’s Basketball Gets Loud At Galen In 81-50 Win Over Santa Clara
November 15, 2024 | Women's Basketball
JuJu Watkins breaks USC record for quickest player to 1,000 points, now with 1,006 in 38 games as a Trojan.
LOS ANGELES — The No. 3 USC women's basketball team powered through a third straight contest at Galen Center with a 81-50 win over Santa Clara. Early in the second half, sophomore JuJu Watkins wrote history with a pull-up jumper at the elbow. With that basket, in her 38th game as a Trojan, Watkins became the fastest USC player to reach 1,000 career points, beating Cheryl Miller's record of 48. The Trojans move to 4-0 overall, while Santa Clara goes to 2-1.
The first half saw both teams similarly efficient shooting from the floor. USC shot 41 percent, and Santa Clara was just behind at 40 percent, although USC was leading 39-26. The Trojans benefitted from forced errors, as they scored 21 points off turnovers. USC also enjoyed points in the paint, wrapping up the first 20 minutes of action with 22 points from down low compared to Santa Clara's six.
The Trojans maintained a steady lead for the rest of the course, wrapping up with shooting 45 percent overall and outpacing Santa Clara's shooting at 35 percent. USC led on the boards 37-35.
The Trojans received game highs from Watkins and Kiki Iriafen. Watkins finished with a 22-point showing with five assists, and Iriafen put up 20 points, pulling down seven rebounds. Rayah Marshall also broke double-digits with 12 for USC. Santa Clara was led by Kaya Ingram's 13 points, followed by 12 points from Olivia Pollerd and 10 from Alana Goodchild.
USC fired off a 7-0 lead behind senior Rayah Marshall's efforts on both ends of the court. Marshall got the ball rolling with a strong post-up to make it 2-0, then swatted the leather on consecutive defensive plays. At the seven-minute mark, Santa Clara got on the board with a floater and continued to punctuate the rally, until USC freshman Kennedy Smith sailed coast to coast with 3:50 on the clock. That sparked an 11-0 run to give the Trojans a 22-9 upper hand, with Iriafen, Watkins, Smith and freshman Kayleigh Heckel all getting a piece of the scoring pie. Santa Clara's jumper was the last word of the quarter to close it out 25-13.
The Broncos came as close as seven points halfway into the second quarter at 30-23, but USC built back a double-digit lead thanks to Watkins, who had a hand in the Trojans' last nine points before the buzzer. Watkins would swish for a jumper and later slip one to Marshall on a fast break to make it 34-23. In transition, she laid it up and drained a 3-pointer. Santa Clara struck last before intermission with a shot beyond the arc to make it 39-26 going into the third.
Through the second half, USC steadily widened the gap with Iriafen's post performance. Iriafen bulldozed the baseline, with back-to-back layups, bringing the Trojans to 56-31. Next, Talia von Oelhoffen fed it to freshman Vivian Iwuchukwu to get USC to 58-35. Malia Samuels dropped a bucket from downtown to push the Trojans' lead, and Smith was the last to join the 3-point party, her sinker pushing USC's lead to 77-45. With less than three minutes to go, Heckel's converted three-point play saw the Trojans to a 34-point advantage, the largest lead of the game. Freshman Rian Forestier topped off the margin with a free throw in the last remaining seconds, and USC finished with an 81-50 win over the visiting Broncos.
Watkins' 22-point outing today enshrined her in another spot in USC's record books. Now with 1,006 career points, Watkins distinguishes herself as one of 30 Women of Troy to hit the coveted mark.
NEXT:
Next week, USC sets up for a marquee matchup at Galen Center as the Trojans host No. 6 Notre Dame in a 1 p.m. meeting on Nov. 23.
NOTABLE:
- SO JuJu Watkins scored her 1,000th career point today, becoming the fastest player in USC history to reach the 1,000-point mark in her career (38 games).
- The previous record was 48 games — set by Cheryl Miller in 1983-84.
- Watkins's 1,000 points in 38 games is the second fastest in Division 1 women's basketball history. She is the third player to hit the mark in 38 games, behind three other players who did it in 37.
- With 22 points today, Watkins has scored in double digits in USC's last eight games, dating back to last season. She's now scored 20 or more points in 30 out of 38 career games.
- Watkins made a season-high three 3-pointers.
- FR Kennedy Smith tied her career high in steals with five tonight.
- GS Kiki Iriafen tied her career high in steals with three this afternoon.
- USC's nine turnovers was a season low.
- With a win today, USC is now 6-0 in the series against Santa Clara.
- FR Vivian Iwuchuckwu and SR Rayah Marshall both celebrate their birthdays today.
The first half saw both teams similarly efficient shooting from the floor. USC shot 41 percent, and Santa Clara was just behind at 40 percent, although USC was leading 39-26. The Trojans benefitted from forced errors, as they scored 21 points off turnovers. USC also enjoyed points in the paint, wrapping up the first 20 minutes of action with 22 points from down low compared to Santa Clara's six.
The Trojans maintained a steady lead for the rest of the course, wrapping up with shooting 45 percent overall and outpacing Santa Clara's shooting at 35 percent. USC led on the boards 37-35.
The Trojans received game highs from Watkins and Kiki Iriafen. Watkins finished with a 22-point showing with five assists, and Iriafen put up 20 points, pulling down seven rebounds. Rayah Marshall also broke double-digits with 12 for USC. Santa Clara was led by Kaya Ingram's 13 points, followed by 12 points from Olivia Pollerd and 10 from Alana Goodchild.
USC fired off a 7-0 lead behind senior Rayah Marshall's efforts on both ends of the court. Marshall got the ball rolling with a strong post-up to make it 2-0, then swatted the leather on consecutive defensive plays. At the seven-minute mark, Santa Clara got on the board with a floater and continued to punctuate the rally, until USC freshman Kennedy Smith sailed coast to coast with 3:50 on the clock. That sparked an 11-0 run to give the Trojans a 22-9 upper hand, with Iriafen, Watkins, Smith and freshman Kayleigh Heckel all getting a piece of the scoring pie. Santa Clara's jumper was the last word of the quarter to close it out 25-13.
The Broncos came as close as seven points halfway into the second quarter at 30-23, but USC built back a double-digit lead thanks to Watkins, who had a hand in the Trojans' last nine points before the buzzer. Watkins would swish for a jumper and later slip one to Marshall on a fast break to make it 34-23. In transition, she laid it up and drained a 3-pointer. Santa Clara struck last before intermission with a shot beyond the arc to make it 39-26 going into the third.
Through the second half, USC steadily widened the gap with Iriafen's post performance. Iriafen bulldozed the baseline, with back-to-back layups, bringing the Trojans to 56-31. Next, Talia von Oelhoffen fed it to freshman Vivian Iwuchukwu to get USC to 58-35. Malia Samuels dropped a bucket from downtown to push the Trojans' lead, and Smith was the last to join the 3-point party, her sinker pushing USC's lead to 77-45. With less than three minutes to go, Heckel's converted three-point play saw the Trojans to a 34-point advantage, the largest lead of the game. Freshman Rian Forestier topped off the margin with a free throw in the last remaining seconds, and USC finished with an 81-50 win over the visiting Broncos.
Watkins' 22-point outing today enshrined her in another spot in USC's record books. Now with 1,006 career points, Watkins distinguishes herself as one of 30 Women of Troy to hit the coveted mark.
NEXT:
Next week, USC sets up for a marquee matchup at Galen Center as the Trojans host No. 6 Notre Dame in a 1 p.m. meeting on Nov. 23.
NOTABLE:
- SO JuJu Watkins scored her 1,000th career point today, becoming the fastest player in USC history to reach the 1,000-point mark in her career (38 games).
- The previous record was 48 games — set by Cheryl Miller in 1983-84.
- Watkins's 1,000 points in 38 games is the second fastest in Division 1 women's basketball history. She is the third player to hit the mark in 38 games, behind three other players who did it in 37.
- With 22 points today, Watkins has scored in double digits in USC's last eight games, dating back to last season. She's now scored 20 or more points in 30 out of 38 career games.
- Watkins made a season-high three 3-pointers.
- FR Kennedy Smith tied her career high in steals with five tonight.
- GS Kiki Iriafen tied her career high in steals with three this afternoon.
- USC's nine turnovers was a season low.
- With a win today, USC is now 6-0 in the series against Santa Clara.
- FR Vivian Iwuchuckwu and SR Rayah Marshall both celebrate their birthdays today.
Women's Basketball Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb Media Availability 9/18/25
Thursday, September 18
USC WBB's Lindsay Gottlieb, Rayah Marshall and Talia von Oelhoffen | Trojan Press Conference
Monday, March 31
USC WBB heads to the Elite 8, defeats Kansas State in Sweet 16 | Rapid Reaction
Saturday, March 29
Kennedy Smith on USC WBB heading to the Elite Eight, Trojan freshmen getting the job done
Saturday, March 29
