JuJu Watkins scored 25 points and No. 7 USC recovered from an 18-point second-half lead by beating Paige Bueckers and fourth-place UConn 72-70 on Saturday night.
The game was a rematch of last season’s Elite Eight game that the Huskies won and featured two of the best players in women’s basketball in All-Americans Bueckers and Watkins. The pair guarded each other for most of the match.
Bueckers finished with 22 points.
With the score tied at 67, Watkins passed the ball to Rayah Marshall for a layup with 1:21 remaining to put USC ahead.
After a miss by the Huskies, Watkins was fouled with 31 seconds left. She missed the first of two free throws as the ball sat on the rim for a few seconds before falling off. She made the second to give the Trojans (11-1) a 70-67 lead.
UConn (10-2), which trailed 51-33 in the third quarter before rallying, answered with a basket from Sarah Strong to pull within one four seconds later.
Watkins then hit two free throws with 19.5 seconds left to make it 72-69.
The Huskies had one last chance to tie when Strong made a mistake shooting a three-pointer with 5 seconds left. She made the first free throw, but missed the second. The freshman intentionally missed the third and UConn got the rebound. It ultimately went to Strong, whose desperation was shut down at the buzzer.
This was the Trojans’ first test since losing to Notre Dame on Nov. 23. Now they face three ranked Big Ten teams in their next four games.
This was the second top-10 team the Huskies have faced this season and they are now 0-2 after also falling to Notre Dame.
Earlier in the third quarter, Watkins blocked Bueckers’ shot, brought the ball to the other end and scored on a pass through her legs with the UConn star guarding her.
A game after making a school-record 20 three-pointers, UConn was just 6 for 23 from behind the three-point arc.