There's no margin for error when it comes to jostling for position and stature in the national conversation this women's basketball season.
Every team in the top 12 of the AP poll has 2 or fewer losses this deep into the schedule.
And to that point, No. 4-ranked USC continues to do its part to assert itself as a top national contender, now with 14 straight wins after a dominant 79-37 win at Purdue on Wednesday to improve to 18-1 and 8-0 in the Big Ten.
For as much attention as the Trojans get for their scoring ability led by star JuJu Watkins (third nationally with 24.8 points per game), as they collectively rank 8th in the country at 83.8 points per game, they showed Wednesday that this deep and talented is roster is every bit as committed to asserting itself defensively as well.
After regrouping following a competitive first quarter in which they trailed 16-15, the Trojans held Purdue to just 8-of-37 shooting (21.6 percent) and 21 points over the final three quarters while turning it into a complete blowout.
"I believe in our defense. We took the press off. We thought that would jumpstart us, but I said, 'Let's just guard them.' Our defense a lot of times starts with Kennedy [Smith]. She turned up the heat. The teammates responded," coach Lindsay Gottlieb said.
Gottlieb was asked if her team's defensive prowess gets overlooked at times (even though the Trojans rank 9th nationally in holding opponents to 34.1-percent shooting) ...
"We spend a lot of time on it, we talk about it, I think our fans enjoy it -- the blocked shots and the pressure we can put on people. ... I guess we want to be known for both," she said.
After that back-and-forth first quarter, the Trojans opened the second quarter on a 26-0 run with balanced contributions to seize full control of the game.
"I think our ball pressure in the beginning of the game was very off, and once we picked up that, disrupting their offense kind of took over the game for us, especially in that second quarter, third quarter and the rest of the game," Smith said.
Watkins matched her season-low with 16 points, but this game was more a showcase of the Trojans' depth with Avery Howell (career-high 18 points), Smith (12), Vivian Iwuchukwu (career-high 8), Rayah Marshall (7 points and 13 rebounds), Kiki Iriafen (7 points in just 11 minutes due to injury), Kayleigh Heckel (6) and Talia von Oelhoffen (5 points, team-high 6 assists and 4 rebounds) all making their mark.
USC's 18-1 start to the season is its best since the 1981-82 season, and its 8-0 start in conference play is its best since the 1993-94 season. The Trojans are now on a 14-game win streak, matching their longest since the 1983-84 season.
"I thought our freshmen were terrific," Gottlieb said of Howell, Smith, Iwuchukwu and Heckel. "We have a lot of belief in that freshman class, we put them in very big moments and very big situations and they deliver as we expect them to. So I thought the bench gave great minutes and we got the job done in a really neat environment here at Purdue."
NOTES: Regarding the status of Iriafen, who left the game after just 11 minutes, Gottlieb said, "I don't think she could have returned, she's continuing to be evaluated, but we're hopeful it won't be too significant."
