Watkins grits, grinds Trojans to victory over Oregon State
LOS ANGELES >> As JuJu Watkins trudged back to the bench in the second quarter, every breath seemed a chore, her face long and her shoulders drooped.
The fatigue weighed her movements, not two quarters into USC's 56-54 Pac-12 victory over Oregon State on Friday night at the Galen Center. After one rebound in the second quarter, she dribbled up the court with all the speed and urgency of a retiree at LA Fitness, nearly getting her pocket picked before driving in for a weary floater that was swatted away. And she took a muchneeded seat a few seconds later, head hanging.
It didn't seem she was out of shape. No, Watkins' steps in the first half Friday dragged with carrying the weight of an entire offense, no other Trojan able to manufacture a bucket.
As an offense that once buzzed with life ran out of juice again, Watkins took 17 of USC's 34 shots from the floor in the first half.
THE SCORE USC 56, OREGON ST. 54 Up next: Oregon at USC, Sunday, noon, Pac-12LA
She had 15 of the Trojans' 25 points before the break, throwing up midrange after midrange off of stepbacks and dribble handoffs because a better shot simply didn't exist.
When Watkins returned in the fourth quarter after a minutes-long injury absence, her shot went cold — but she scratched and clawed her way to five blocked shots and six rebounds, even swan-diving into a crowd to ensure a late-game jump ball.
She finished with 28 points on 11-of-33 shooting. Ugly. But every bucket was needed, and senior Kayla Padilla stepped up in the second half, draining a couple of late 3-pointers to finish with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
“It wasn't our prettiest,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said afterward to a buzzing home crowd, assuming the microphone in a salute to the fans. “But it might've been our grittiest.”
Watkins has captivated the women's basketball world in just a few short months at USC. But at times, she and the ninthranked Trojans (11-1 overall, 1-1 Pac-12) have dipped into heliocentric offensive tendencies reminiscent of her days playing at Sierra Canyon High.
“We know that part of the reason what makes Ju great,” Gottlieb said Thursday, “is the gravity she draws and the attention that she draws. And so it's going to open up, not just shots for other players but her ability to make plays in space.”
And as OSU (12-1, 1-1) kept USC at arm's length in the third quarter thanks to junior Talia von Oelhoffen (18 points, six assists), Watkins generated some momentum with two-way magnetism.
Oregon State didn't quit, Raegan Beers finishing an and-one layup to cut USC's lead to 56-54 with less than two minutes left. But Rayah Marshall hung tough against a late Beers layup and putback try, the Beavers coming up empty at the buzzer.