USC top the Acrisure Invitational

PALM DESERT, CALIF. — The No. 6 USC women’s basketball team had two Trojans tally 30-point outings in the same game for just the second time in program history with JuJu Watkins’ 34 points and 30 from Kiki Iriafen during a 104-65 win over Saint Louis.

Nine different Trojans scored in USC’s second 100-point effort of the season to help improve to 6-1 overall. USC was competing at the Acrisure Women’s Holiday Invitational at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif.

USC saw Saint Louis pick up its scoring pace in the second quarter to get a once-14-point Trojan lead down to one during the first half. USC gripped a 42-37 lead at the break, having shot 40 percent from the floor to trail the Billikens’ 48-percent first-half effort.

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— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) November 30, 2024

USC was up on the boards 20-17 and had the advantage from the stripe in going 10- of-14 from the free-throw line in the first 20 points to SLU’s 5-of-6 outing. The Trojans shifted gears in the second half and got out ahead by almost 50 points during the fourth — up 99-53 with 3:40 to go — before finishing out the win shooting an even 50 percent from the floor.

Saint Louis wrapped at 42.1 percent and was well behind on the boards 43-28. USC also shot a season-best 47.6 percent from 3-point range (10-of-21).

Watkins’ game-high 34 points marked the sophomore’s 15th career 30-plus scoring effort. Iriafen notched her first 30-point outing as a Trojan and added 12 rebounds for her second double-double at USC. She was a perfect 12-of-12 from the free-throw line. USC also received 13 points from Talia von Oelhoffen and 11 from Avery Howell. Saint Louis also had four players finish in double digits: Mia Bergstrom (19 points), Brooklyn Gray (14), Kennedy Calhoun (13) and Shun’teria Anumele (10) while Tierra Simon pulled in 11 rebounds for the Billikens. 

JuJu Watkins punched up 13 points in the first quarter and Talia von Oelhoffen nailed a 3-point buzzer-beater to net a 24-15 USC lead after 10 minutes of action. The Trojans were clicking out of the gates of the second, sparked by a 3-pointer from Avery Howell and back-to-back buckets from Kiki Iriafen that had USC on top 31-17.

USC would hit a scoring slump later, though, coming up empty from the floor while only free throws fell for the Trojans for over six minutes. The Billikens would carve USC’s lead down to just a single point at 38-37 with 1:30 on the clock before the Trojans managed the final four points of the half to make it a 42-37 margin at the break. 

Eight points in three minutes from von Oelhoffen helped put USC on a path to pad out its lead in the third. Her third 3-pointer of the evening built a 54-39 Trojan lead.

That strike came during what would grow to be an 18-0 USC scoring rally in which both Iriafen and Watkins got to 20 points on the night. USC was fully in a groove by then, and Howell topped off the third with a buzzer-beating three to get USC a 79-45 advantage.

The freshman started the fourth in similar form, nailing another 3-pointer. USC would set its course on another scoring rally with a 12-0 surge that featured seven points from Watkins. Int the final minute, USC added two more Trojans to the scoring column in Vivian Iwuchukwu and Clarice Akinwafo while crossing the 100-point mark en route to a final 104-65 Trojan victory.