JuJu Watkins produced 31 points and 10 rebounds as No. 2 Southern California held on for an 84-79 victory over ninth-seeded Indiana in Big Ten tournament quarterfinal play Friday afternoon in Indianapolis.
The Big Ten’s Player of the Year hit 10 of 19 shots from the field and 10 of 13 at the line. First-team all-Big Ten forward Kiki Iriafen added 21 points and 10 rebounds for the top-seeded Trojans (27-2), who advanced to face Michigan in Saturday’s first semifinal. USC beat the Wolverines 78-58 on Dec. 29 in Los Angeles.
Yarden Garzon hit 5 3-pointers on her way to 23 points and eight rebounds for the Hoosiers (19-12). Chloe Moore-McNeil notched 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Shay Ciezki added 15 points and three blocks.
Playing without senior center Rayah Marshall (7.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.1 bpg) due to illness, USC never led by double figures and clung to a 59-57 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Trojans gained some breathing room, but Lilly Meister hit a pair of free throws to get the Hoosiers within 71-68 with 3:30 left. Talia Von Oelhoffen and Watkins responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to all but clinch USC’s eighth straight win.
Michigan 98, Maryland 71
After squandering nearly all of a 25-point lead in the first half, fifth-seeded Michigan calmly built a bigger lead in the second half to spring the quarterfinal upset of No. 15 Maryland.
Jordan Hobbs scored 23 points, Syla Swords posted 22 points and six assists and Olivia Olson added 20 points and five assists for Michigan (22-9), which reeled off 25 straight points to seize a 31-6 lead early in the second quarter. The Wolverines drilled 12 of their 23 3-point attempts and shot 61 percent from the field overall.
Maryland (23-7) went scoreless for 16 possessions in a row to fall behind by 25, but Sarah Te-Biasu delivered 16 of her 25 points during the second quarter as the Terps reeled off 16 consecutive points to get as close as 38-37 just before the half. Christina Dalce added 19 points.
Hobbs swished a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to restore a four-point edge, then added eight more points in the third as the Wolverines built a 69-49 lead heading into the fourth. They pushed their margin all the way to 98-68 in the waning moments.
–Field Level Media
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