INDIANAPOLIS — JuJu Watkins scored 31 points, Kiki Iriafen added 21 and each grabbed 10 rebounds in their first Big Ten Tournament games, leading No. 2 Southern California to an 84-79 victory over Indiana on Friday in Indianapolis.
The Trojans (27-2) have now won all three games they’ve played in Indiana this season and will take an eight-game winning streak into Saturday’s semifinal contest against either fourth-seeded Maryland or fifth-seeded Michigan.
Yarden Garzon had 23 points to lead the Hoosiers (19-12), making five of her six baskets from 3-point range. She also had eight rebounds and Shay Ciezki added 15 points as Indiana’s two-game winning streak ended.
It looked as if the Trojans may pull away when they used a 13-4 run to take a 55-48 lead late in the third quarter, but Indiana charged back within 59-57 entering the fourth. USC pulled away again with a 9-3 spurt to make it 71-63 with 5:15 to play.
The Hoosiers never recovered.
Indiana: The Hoosiers probably locked up an NCAA Tournament bid with Thursday’s win over Oregon. If there still were doubts, Friday’s game answered those. Indiana executed coach Teri Moren’s game plan almost to perfection and the result was closer than expected.
USC: The Trojans certainly didn’t take the easy route. They looked stale offensively, at times, struggled with fouls on defense and allowed the Hoosiers to hang around most of the game. The bottom line, though: USC survived and advanced.
After Indiana cut the deficit to 71-68 late in the fourth, USC answered with back-to-back 3s from Talia von Oelhoffen and Watkins to take its largest lead of the game.
Indiana made 24 of 25 free throws to stay close.
Indiana takes more than a week off before learning its postseason fate. The Trojans play in the first of Saturday’s two semifinals.
