No. 2 USC Women’s Basketball Holds Off Hoosiers For 84-79 Win And Ticket To Big Ten Semifinals
INDIANAPOLIS — The No. 2 USC women’s basketball team withstood nine lead changes and turned a fourth-quarter two-point margin into an 84-79 victory over Indiana in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen both tallied double-doubles on the day to help lead the Trojans’ gutsy effort to win and advance to the semifinals. Top-seeded USC is now 27-2 overall, while Indiana goes to 19-
USC was ahead of the Hoosiers 38-34 at halftime, but they cooled off a little in the second frame. The Trojans had shot 43.8 percent from the field to beat Indiana’s 41.4 percent at the half, and USC was ahead on the boards 20-15. USC maintained that pace to finish outscoring the Hoosiers 40-35 and finishing at 46.8 percent offensively, while Indiana finished at 39.7 percent, making eight 3-pointers that day to outscore USC’s six threes made.
