Iriafen scores 24 points and No. 7 USC beats No. 8 Ohio State 84-63 as Watkins struggles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kiki Iriafen had 24 points and 13 rebounds and No. 7 Southern California defeated eighth-ranked Ohio State 84-63 on Saturday night when Trojans star JuJu Watkins struggled offensively.

It was a cold shooting night for Watkins, the Big Ten’s leading scorer who averages 24.2 points. She missed her first 11 shots before scoring on a layup in the third quarter, drawing big cheers from the crowd. She was 5 for 21 from the floor (1 of 6 from 3-point range) and finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Trojans (21-2, 11-1 Big Ten) missed their first seven shots and had five turnovers in the game’s opening five minutes.

The Buckeyes (20-3, 9-3) were led by Taylor Thierry, who scored 14 points before fouling out with 5:37 remaining. Cotie McMahon added 13 points.

Takeaways

Ohio State: The Buckeyes got swept in LA, losing to top-ranked UCLA by 13 points. They led the Trojans by five to start the game and trailed by one in the second quarter only to get outscored 13-6 to end the first half down 34-26.

USC: The Trojans need Watkins to regain her shooting touch with crosstown rival UCLA looming. They also must cut down on turnovers. They committed 23 — second-worst of the season.

Key moment

The Trojans pulled away in the third, closing on a 9-2 run to lead 59-45 going into the fourth. Watkins had five points and Kayleigh Heckel added four in the spurt.

Key stat

Watkins was 0 for 8 from the floor in the first half when she made all four of her free throws. Against Minnesota a week ago, she was 0 for 10 in the first half and finished with 20 points.

Up next

Ohio State hosts Minnesota on Thursday. USC hosts No. 1 UCLA on Thursday in a sold-out game.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball