Iriafen and Watkins lead No. 4 Southern California to 82-69 victory over Minnesota

LOS ANGELES — Kiki Iriafen scored 23 points, JuJu Watkins added 20 and fourth-ranked Southern California led throughout to defeat Minnesota 82-69 on Thursday night and extend its winning streak to 15 games.

Watkins, who leads the Big Ten in scoring at 24.6 points per game, missed her first 10 shots from the field and was 7 of 24 overall for USC (19-1, 9-0 Big Ten). The sophomore guard had only 2 points at halftime on a pair of free throws. She didn't make her first shot until 16 seconds into the third quarter on a pullup jumper.

Iriafren and Watkins also had 11 rebounds apiece. It was Iriafren's seventh double-double of the season and the fourth for Watkins.

Sophie Hart led Minnesota (18-4, 6-4) with 18 points. Mallory Heyer added 17.

Takeaways

Minnesota: Sophomore Grace Grocholski had eight points, snapping a seven-game streak during which she scored in double figures.

USC: It was the Trojans' first home game in 18 days. They were scheduled to play Northwestern on Jan. 15 at the Galen Center, but the game was postponed due to the wildfires.

Key moment

The Gophers scored 12 straight points to get within 64-58 with 8:10 remaining, but the Trojans put it away for good with a 10-2 run, including seven straight points by Watkins.

Key stat

The Trojans shot just 35.9% from the field in the first half (14 of 39) but were 16 of 27 in the final 20 minutes.

Up next

Both teams return to action Sunday. Minnesota remains in Southern California to face top-ranked UCLA, while USC is at Iowa in a nationally-televised game.

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