JuJu Watkins, No. 4 USC women hold off No. 22 Michigan State

LOS ANGELES — There weren’t any double-digit deficits to worry about or big fourth-quarter comebacks needed. This was another defeat of a nationally ranked team to add to USC’s accomplishments this season.

But that’s not to say there weren’t moments of anxiety for the fourth-ranked USC women’s basketball team on Wednesday night in dispatching No. 22 Michigan State, 83-75, at the Galen Center.

The Trojans (24-2 overall, 14-1 Big Ten) held off a fourth-quarter push by the Spartans (19-7, 9-6) to extend their winning streak to five games.

It was the kind of game USC needed after back-to-back emotional contests against crosstown rival UCLA and Washington.

USC faces No. 25 Illinois on Sunday, its eighth ranked opponent this season. The Trojans are 6-1 in those games, having lost to then-No. 20 Mississippi in November.

The was a hold-your-breath moment late in the first quarter when USC’s all-everything guard Juju Watkins went down after colliding with a Michigan State player while going up for a layup. Watkins remained down on the court for several seconds before heading to the locker room while holding her neck.

She emerged a short time later and continued her assault on the Spartans, showing no effects of her fall. She finished with 28 points on 10-of-23 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocked shots.

Kiki Iriafen added 24 points, 15 in the second half. She shot 7 for 13 from the field and 10 for 12 from the free-throw line to go along with 10 rebounds.

Center Rayah Marshall added eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Grace VanSlooten tied a career high with 29 points and grabbed six rebounds and Julia Ayrault had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Michigan State, but the Spartans shot just 1 for 13 from 3-point range as a team (compared to USC’s 5-of-15 showing).

The Trojans extended their 10-point halftime lead to 21 points late in the third quarter.

The Spartans, however, capitalized on a series of turnovers and missed shots by USC to make a run in the fourth. Michigan State’s Theryn Hallock scored a layup off of one of those turnovers to trim the margin to 72-62 with 6:02 left.

After Aryault made one free throw, Nyla Hampton scored off another USC turnover to cap a 7-0 run and cut the lead to 72-65 with 4:54 remaining. MSU got within 74-68 when a VanSlooten layup capped a 15-4 run with 4:01 left, but a Kennedy Smith jumper followed by a Watkins fast-break layup with 2:51 left helped the Trojans re-establish a double-digit cushion and they closed it out from there.

With the win, the Trojans officially clinched a double-bye in next month’s Big Ten tournament. They remain in first place in the conference with two regular-season games remaining.

The game slowed in the second quarter as the Spartans stepped up their defensive attack and limited the Trojans to 17 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Still, USC led 41-31 at the half as the Trojans did most of their first half scoring in the opening quarter.

The Trojans led 24-16 after one quarter.

Watkins scored 10 of her 17 first-half points in the first quarter, sending her on the way to her 26th double-double of the season.

The game was just another celebration for one of the most-celebrated women’s college players this season. On Tuesday, the sophomore guard was named one of 39 semifinalists for the Sullivan Award, which honors athletic excellence, leadership, citizenship and sportsmanship.

Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers is the only other women’s college basketball player on the list, which includes Olympians and other elite amateurs.

Watkins had already been named to the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Watch List as well as the Wooden Award Watch List.

More to come on this story.