JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen score over 30 points and No. 6 USC defeats Saint Louis 104-65

JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen score over 30 points and No. 6 USC defeats Saint Louis 104-65

JuJu Watkins scored a season-best 34 points despite four fouls, Kiki Iriafen added a career-high 30 points and No. 6 Southern California pulled away in the second half to beat Saint Louis 104-65 in the Acrisure Holiday Invitational on Friday night.

Watkins was 7 of 9 from the free throw line and had six rebounds. Iriafen made all twelve free throws and grabbed twelve rebounds. Talia Von Oelhoffen scored 13 points for the Trojans (6-1).

Saint Louis shot 48% in the second quarter while the Trojans held to 40%, and their bench outscored USC’s reserves 10-5 and was 42-37 at halftime.

But USC recovered in the third period and beat the Billikens 37:8. Watkins scored seven points in an 18-0 run.

The Billikens (3-5) were led by Mia Bergstrom with 19 points.

Takeaways

Saint Louis: The Billikens made things interesting in the first half. After falling behind by nine in the first quarter, they overcame USC’s press and used a 12-1 run to outscore the Trojans 22-18 in the second quarter.

USC: It took the Trojans a half to get out of the groove, but when they did, the duo of Watkins and Iriafen, transferring from Stanford, showed how dominant they can be. They took a 2-0 lead in the desert after defeating Seton Hall 84-51 in the first game.

Key moment

USC turned up its defense in the second half and outscored Saint Louis 19-0 in the third quarter.

Key statistics

The Billikens’ 24 turnovers led to 45 points for the Trojans. Gray had a team-high six turnovers.

Next

Saint Louis hosts Murray State on Tuesday. USC hosts Cal Baptist on Tuesday.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *