UCLA women get past USC

The No. 8 Bruins pull away late for an 84-70 victory, their second win over the Trojans in four days.

When things got hectic for UCLA on Monday, the Bruins turned to senior point guard Jordin Canada.

Canada scored 10 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter against USC and added eight assists in the game to lead No. 8 UCLA to an 84-70 win at the Galen Center.

Monique Billings scored 18 points and had 11 rebounds for her 41st career double-double. It was the second time in four days UCLA beat USC.

UCLA (19-4, 10-2 Pac-12) moved into a three-way tie for first place in the conference with Oregon and Stanford. It was the Bruins’ eighth consecutive win and they moved up one spot in the national rankings earlier in the day.

The Bruins haven’t lost a game this season (19-0) in which they’ve led after three quarters. Canada has much to do with that.

“She’s a gamer. She just knows how to show up and handle business on the court,” Billings said. “Every time she does, I always tell her ‘be a pro.’ I try to get that into her mind-set. I think that’s what she’s really shown.”

Aliyah Mazyck had a team-best 21 points for the Trojans (15-8, 5-7 Pac-12). Minyon Moore made one of two free throws to pull USC within 69-68 with 4:41 left, but the Trojans wouldn’t get any closer as the Bruins closed the game on a 15-2 run.

Canada made all seven of her free throws in the final 4:33.