A couple of the most oft-recited cliches in sports are about how hard it is to win a championship and how tough it is to beat the same team three times.

Both were true Sunday for the USC women's basketball team, which let a 13-point second-half lead slip away in a 72-67 loss to rival UCLA in the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis.

The Trojans (28-3) had given the Bruins (30-2) their only two regular-season losses, winning the earlier matchups while earning the Big Ten's regular-season title, and for much of the game Sunday it looked like USC might make it a clean sweep.

Then it all came unraveled.

USC, which scored 24 points in the first quarter alone and held a 45-35 halftime lead, managed just 22 points in the second half with 9 of those coming in the final 1:13 while being unable to erase UCLA's late lead.

The Trojans shot just 8 of 36 from the field (2 of 15 from 3-point range) after halftime. They missed 15 straight shots from late in the third quarter until Watkins scored with 1:13 left in the fourth quarter, giving UCLA all the opening it needed to take control of the game.

Watkins finished with a game-high 29 points, but she had just 4 points in the second half until scoring 7 over that final 1:13, but the Bruins' lead was never truly threatened in that stretch. It was 70-62 when Watkins hit a 3-pointer, then stole an inbounds pass and finished with a layup to make it 70-67 with just 4 seconds left, and UCLA's Londynn Jones hit both free throws on the other end to seal the win.

Aside from Watkins, Kiki Iriafen was the only other Trojan to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points.

UCLA was led by 17 from center Lauren Betts.

USC, which was ranked No. 2 in the AP poll this week, should still have a strong case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament when the brackets are released next weekend.