JuJu Watkins leads No. 6 USC to comeback victory over No. 1 UCLA

Londynn Jones escaped with the ball on a fast break. Down eight points in the first quarter, all the shifty UCLA guard had to do was make a layup to keep USC within reach amid a JuJu Watkins scoring run. Barreling her way into the paint with too much force, Jones tumbled to the floor and was called for charging.

The play was representative of UCLA’s frustrating start to Thursday’s rivalry game. The Bruins gave up 24 points in the first, tying their season high for a quarter. It was beginning to look like a disaster for coach Cori Close and the top-ranked Bruins in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,528 at Galen Center. UCLA’s best-in-the-Big Ten perimeter defense struggled as Watkins scorched the Bruins’ guards for six first-half three-pointers.

UCLA’s undefeated season is no more, buried under an offensive barrage by USC backed by a stout defensive effort in the fourth quarter.

The sixth-ranked Trojans knocked off the top-ranked Bruins, 71-60, behind 38 points from JuJu Watkins, who also had a career-high eight blocks to go with 11 rebounds and five assists. It was Watkins’ sixth double-double of the season and 15th of her career.

It is the first time USC beat a No. 1 team since the 1983 national championship game, when the Trojans beat Louisiana Tech 69-67 to win the second of the program’s two national titles with Cheryl Miller.

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1. USC’s JuJu Watkins tries to drive past UCLA’s Londynn Jones in the fourth quarter. 2. JuJu Watkins celebrates after blocking a shot. 3. JuJu Watkins celebrates after making a three-pointer. 4. UCLA’s Kiki Rice, bottom, and USC’s Avery Howell battle for a loose ball in the fourth quarter. 5. USC’s Kennedy Smith drives to the basket in front of UCLA’s Janiah Barker in the fourth quarter. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The Bruins, the last undefeated team in the country, carried a 52-47 lead into the fourth quarter before being outscored 24-8 in the final period. Lauren Betts led UCLA with 18 points, though she was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.

USC (22-2, 12-1 Big Ten) moved into first place in the conference standings as UCLA (23-1, 11-1) slipped behind the Trojans.

The rematch will be in a little over two weeks, on March 1 at Pauley Pavilion. The game is already sold out, UCLA announced Wednesday.

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USC is displaying a closing kick that has it on the verge of toppling the No. 1 team in the country.

After UCLA took a 56-55 lead with 4:42 left in the game, the Trojans responded with a 12-1 burst behind the star play of JuJu Watkins at both ends of the floor to put them ahead 67-57 with 2:25 to go in the fourth quarter.

Watkins is up to seven blocks for the game to go with 38 points and 10 rebounds.

JuJu Watkins is doing it all to help the Trojans rally for a signature win.

Her jumper, steal and driving layup within a 24-second span put USC ahead, 53-52 with 5:58 to go as UCLA coach Cori Close called a timeout to regroup.

Watkins is up to 34 points on 12-of-24 shooting and has a career-high 6 blocks to go along with 9 rebounds.

The latest offensive outburst allowed Watkins to surpass 1,500 points for her career.

It’s going to be quite a finish, one way or the other.

UCLA holds a 52-47 lead through three quarters as Lauren Betts scored nine in that period and is up to 18 to lead the Bruins. Kiki Rice has 10 points and 6 assists for UCLA.

The Trojans were outscored 17-9 in that quarter and in fact, since holding a 32-18 advantage with 6:32 to go in the first half, the Bruins have outscored USC 34-15.

JuJu Watkins has 30 points to notch her fifth 30-point game of the season.

Kiki Iriafen made two free throws and JuJu Watkins made a layup and free throw to pull USC within 45-43 with 5:21 left.

But the Bruins extended their lead as Lauren Betts made a layup and Janiah Barker made a tough turnaround jumper to make it 49-43 with 4:27 to go in the third quarter.

Lauren Betts has put the top-ranked Bruins on her back to start the second half.

The junior center, who is UCLA’s leading scorer, scored the first seven points of the third quarter before Londynn Jones nailed a three-pointer to stake the Bruins to a 45-38 lead. Betts is up to 16 points and has made 4 of 6 from the field and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line.

The 10-0 run forced USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb to take a timeout with 7:11 left in the third quarter.

If the first half is any indication, we’re in for quite the second half.

The Bruins charged all the way back from a 14-point second-quarter deficit, and JuJu Watkins capped off her hot start with her sixth three-pointer to stake USC to a 38-35 lead at halftime.

Watkins has 25 points and went nine for 15 from the field and made six of seven three-point attempts. Talia von Oelhoffen had five points as the next-highest scorer for the Trojans.

UCLA, with a more balanced offensive attack, was led by Lauren Betts with 9 points, with Kiki Rice scoring 8 points and Janiah Barker adding 7.

The Trojans shot 38.2% from the field (13 of 34) while the Bruins shot 44.4% from the floor (12 of 27). UCLA outrebounded USC 23-12, but the Bruins committed 12 turnovers to the Trojans’ 6.

UCLA is showing why it is the No. 1 team in the country.

Showing poise and gritty defense, the Bruins went on a 10-1 run to pull them within 35-31 and forcing USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb to take a timeout with 2:10 to go before the half.

The run was sparked by Lauren Betts’ rebounding and Kiki Rice’s offense as UCLA made this a close game.

The JuJu Watkins experience continues in the second quarter.

The superstar sophomore guard is up to 21 points after going coast to coast for a layup as USC has built a 34-23 lead over UCLA with 4:57 left in the first half.

Watkins has made five out of six three-point attempts and also has three rebounds and two blocks.

That’s quite a way to cap off an opening quarter.

Talia von Oelhoffen, who opened the scoring with a three-pointer, banked in a long two-pointer at the buzzer to give the Trojans a 24-15 advantage over the Bruins after one quarter.

JuJu Watkins scored 11 points in the frame to lead all scorers.

It’s a season high for points allowed in any quarter for UCLA.

A 9-2 burst by the Trojans fueled by JuJu Watkins (who made her third three-pointer of the quarter and has 11 points) and a nifty layup by Kayleigh Heckel gave USC a 20-10 advantage and forced a timeout by UCLA coach Cori Close with 2:22 to go in the first quarter.

The 20 points are already the most points the Bruins have allowed in the first quarter this season.

JuJu Watkins’ shooting slump might be over, at least in the early going.

Watkins has accounted for eight of the Trojans’ 11 points as USC jumped out to an 11-8 advantage with 4:38 to go in the first quarter.

Watkins shot 31 percent from the field in USC’s last four games, including 16 percent from three-point range, but has made two of her first three three-pointers tonight.

The national anthem has been sung — by JuJu Watkins’ sister Mali Nicole — the lineups introduced and we have tipped off at Galen Center.

Starting lineups:

USC

Kennedy Smith (G)

JuJu Watkins (G)

Rayah Marshall (C/F)

Kiki Iriafen (F

Talia von Oelhoffen (G)

UCLA

Lauren Betts (C)

Kiki Rice (G)

Gabriela Jaquez (G)

Londynn Jones (G)

Angela Gugalic (F)

We’re less than 30 minutes from tipoff at Galen Center, where No. 6 USC will host top-ranked and undefeated UCLA in a highly-anticipated regular-season rivalry game.

The Bruins (23-0, 11-0 Big Ten) have held the No. 1 ranking for the last 12 weeks since upsetting defending national champion South Carolina on Nov. 24 at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA has actually lost the last two times it has faced USC, most recently in the semifinals of the Pac-12 conference tournament last year.

The Trojans (21-2, 11-1) are 30-18 all-time when hosting the Bruins.

The best women’s basketball team in the country plays at Pauley Pavilion.

How else can UCLA be described after its 77-62 destruction of No. 1 South Carolina?

The No. 5 Bruins dominated the defending national champions from the opening tip to the final buzzer in their breakthrough win, the first in program history over a top-ranked opponent.

South Carolina was expected to provide a formidable early-season test for the Bruins, but coach Cori Close’s team showed up at Nell and John Wooden Court with all of the answers.

BOULDER, Colo. — A three-month-old baby sleeps peacefully in an almost silent room in the tunnels of CU Events Center. While music thumps on the court, where USC and Colorado are warming up for a critical game in the Pac-12 conference race, the only sound in a room normally intended for film study is the rhythmic suction of a breast pump.

Lindsay Gottlieb scrolls through her phone while her breast milk drips into small clear bottles.

“It would be nice to get this one on the road,” the USC head coach says, the anxiety creeping into her voice.

The UCLA women’s basketball team has a new, coveted designation: best in the country.

A day after the Bruins toppled top-ranked South Carolina, they leapfrogged three other unbeaten teams Monday to take over the top spot in the Associated Press rankings.

It’s the first appearance at No. 1 for UCLA, which moved ahead of Connecticut, Notre Dame, Texas and USC in the wake of the Trojans’ home loss to Notre Dame. USC is No. 6 in the new poll, down three spots. South Carolina fell to No. 4 after its 15-point loss to the Bruins.

What does it all mean?

He’s her favorite player. When LeBron James sat courtside at a recent USC women’s basketball game, the Lakers star showed that JuJu Watkins is rising up his list, too.

“She’s the next greatest thing in women’s basketball,” James said two days after he watched USC dismantle UC Riverside with Watkins scoring 27 points in 29 minutes.

The top-ranked player in her recruiting class is living up to all the hype. USC’s star freshman ranks second in the country in scoring, is drawing larger and larger crowds to Galen Center and has put her hometown Trojans in the national conversation for the first time in decades.

Like many Angelenos, the UCLA women’s basketball team is dealing with the catastrophic toll of the massive wildfires this past week — a firestorm inching perilously closer to home.

Just seven miles west of Pauley Pavilion, the Palisades fire rages, prompting the evacuation of nearby Brentwood on Saturday and steadily advancing toward campus.

“I wish we weren’t having to go through it,” coach Cori Close said. “I’m devastated by some of the hurt that people are experiencing right now and the devastation to our city.”

At one point, the blaze encroached upon the homes of Close and assistant Tony Newnan, who live near the edge of the fire zone. Fortunately, Close said Friday none of the athletes or other coaches had homes in immediate danger.

HARTFORD, Conn. — In a marquee matchup Saturday night, No. 7 USC defeated perennial powerhouse No. 4 Connecticut 72-70, avenging its Elite Eight loss to the Huskies in April and strengthening its status as one of the nation’s elite teams.

“This is a really significant win, and it’s a significant win because of the stature of the UConn program and what [Connecticut coach] Geno Auriemma has done for our sport,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “I told [the team] in [the locker room] — for me, for my entire high school and on, this is what basketball excellence was, this is what we saw. And it’s challenged all of us to want to be better, to find players who want to be better and be that elite.”

Undeterred playing in front of a sold-out crowd on the road, USC opened the game with a 9-0 run, capitalizing on cold shooting and defensive lapses from the Huskies. Buoyed by 15 points from JuJu Watkins, the Trojans shot 48.6% from the floor in the first half, including seven for 11 from three-point range, to take a 42-29 lead at halftime.

She was a kid. He was a legend.

She was an assistant coach in her first college job. He was the greatest coach in college basketball history.

She was 22. He was 83.

When she was ushered into his Encino condo for the first time, she was so nervous, she couldn’t even pronounce her name.

“Who is this?” asked John Wooden, pointing to where she was standing behind several other visiting coaches.

JuJu Watkins stared blankly toward the court, the frustration evident on her face. It’s rare anything penetrates the preternatural calm with which Watkins plays, but it was clear the superstar sophomore was pressing, in the throes of her worst slump yet at USC.

Now, as a Fox camera zoomed in on her and coach Lindsay Gottlieb, her gaze and frustration were on full display.

Vanessa Nygaard recognized that rare bit of frustration, bottled up within. And she also knew, in Watkins’ case, there was nothing to worry about.

Nygaard was the coach at Windward High when Watkins was a freshman, first finding herself in high school hoops. Even then, Nygaard says, Watkins was so naturally composed, so uncommonly put together for a teenager, that the coach Nygaard actually urged her to let out the frustration once in a while.