When star forward Kiki Iriafen transferred from Stanford to USC after last season, it was immediately presumed that she and Trojans star JuJu Watkins would form one of the most dynamic duos in women's college basketball.

That's certainly been the case, but Sunday might have been the best example of the tandem's prolific potential yet as Watkins scored 35 points, Iriafen scored 28 and they combined to make 25 of 33 shots in USC's 95-73 win over Penn State inside Galen Center.

Watkins, who shot a career-best 86.7 percent from the floor (13 of 15), and Iriafen have each scored in double figures every game this season for the surging Trojans (16-1, 6-0 Big Ten), who have won 12 straight games.

"We didn't really get to play a lot with each other in the summer, so we've kind of been learning on the fly, like pick and roll actions. But I think I'm getting pretty comfortable with like, where does she like screens, where is the pocket going to be for myself and likewise. I think you see during the game we're always talking to each other," Iriafen said. "... I think our communication is something that's getting much, much better and is going to continue to improve, but I think, honestly, just like every single day continuing to play with each other we've just grown that chemistry."

The Trojans had a 38-31 lead on Penn State (9-8, 0-6) with a little more than 4 minutes left in the second quarter before closing the half on an 18-0 run to seize total control of the game.

That decisive spurt naturally started with Watkins, who drained a 3-pointer, followed by a fastbreak layup from Avery Howell, a jumper from Rayah Marshall, back-to-back buckets from Watkins, a jumper from Iriafen, a layup from Talia von OelHoffen and a layup and free throw from Watkins to cap it and push the lead to 56-31.

"One thing we've talked about is approaching every possession with the same kind of determination," coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. "I think we have a team sometimes because of our high standards that wants to do everything all at once, and I said it's OK to not have a lot of separation -- you still have to fight on the next possession, next possession. But when we can go on one of those runs and use our explosiveness offensively and get leads, now then we want to continue to learn how to not be nice to anyone, how to make stops time and again, how to play with a lead.

"A lot of it is still a learning process, but it's fun to do it with a group that's bought in and trying to learn all the time and that just has a high standard for themselves. ... That run in the second quarter was impressive, and we know we have the ability to do it and then it's just understanding our power to continue to do that possession after possession."

Iriafen, a 6-foot-3 forward averaging 18.6 points and 8.6 rebounds this season, said not only she but the whole team feeds off Watkins, who is now averaging 25.5 points per game this season and chipped in 11 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocks Sunday.

"Playing with JuJu, she's very infectious with the way she plays, so when she's going hard, when she's like amped up, it kind of flows through the rest of the team. So for myself, I'm trying to match that as well," Iriafen said.

USC had an announced attendance of 5,881, and after the game Gottlieb addressed the crowd and shared her appreciation for their support amidst the fires and devastation in the area.

"So many people have lost so much, and we 100 percent recognize that sports and athletics are not bigger than those real-world things. And at the same time, I think what is incredibly important at this time is community," Gottlieb said in her postgame press conference, reiterating those sentiments. "Even people who have lost a ton of things have said the feeling of community is what they want, and so for our staff and everyone to go forward with this game, we appreciate people coming out, we appreciate the opportunity to help the community in that way and give people two hours of joy and we continue to support our own community in whatever ways that we can. But tonight, to see so many people here is really heartening, and I think a positive thing for our community."

Said Watkins: "It's just really been heavy on our hearts, and we've been doing the best we can to kind of stay locked in and have as much positivity as possible."