Playing its first home game in 18 days, the USC women's basketball team gave an impressive crowd inside Galen Center what it came to see Thursday night.
The No. 4-ranked Trojans built a quick double-digit lead in the first quarter and went on to close out an 82-69 win over Minnesota, running their win streak to 15 games -- the longest for the program since the 1982-83 season.
Kiki Iriafen led the way with 23 points and 11 rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting, JuJu Watkins had 20 points and 11 boards and freshman Avery Howell added 12 points off the bench as the Trojans improved to 19-1 overall -- the best start for USC since 1981-82 -- and 9-0 in the Big Ten.
Sophie Hart had 18 points and 8 rebounds for Minnesota (18-4, 6-4) while Mallory Heyer added 17 points and 7 boards.
That the Trojans made it look so easy yet again against one of the better teams in the Big Ten was the latest reminder that they are scripting a very special season.
"It was nice to be home. Our crowd is continuing to be amazing. It was a long time that we didn't get to play here," USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. "Minnesota is a really good team. I told the team a number of times, they had the same number of wins as us. They're at the top section of the conference, and we thought we took care of business."
USC had its long stretch away from home in part because its Jan. 15 home game vs. Northwestern was postponed in the wake of the fires across Los Angeles.
In their return to Galen Center, the Trojans were without starting center Rayah Marshall due to injury and Watkins started the game 0 for 10 from the field in the first half before finding her rhythm offensively.
None of that mattered as the Trojans led 25-15 after the first quarter led by 9 points from Iriafen and 6 from Talia von Oelhoffen.
The game never got closer than 6 points the rest of the way. Minnesota opened the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run, but USC scored 10 of the next 12 points -- including 7 straight from Watkins -- to pull away comfortably.
"We didn't know that Rayah wasn't going to play until this morning, so I thought other people stepped up finding different ways to win," Gottlieb said. "I think our freshmen, who got significant minutes, were really, really good and they keep getting better, which is exciting. And at the same time, I think our standards are really high -- we could have been cleaner offensively and defensively in that second half so we'll have some good film to learn from it as well."
As for Watkins' slow start ...
"I thought her teammates really lifted her up. The fact that people are going to continue to give us open 3s when she's crowded and we continue to knock them down -- that's the second game in a row that I think we've made 11 3s -- I think will eventually make people really have to make decisions," Gottlieb said. "But I think she's a very mentally tough human being and basketball player and finds a way at some point to figure it out. ... I don't think any of us were surprised the shots went down in the second half."
Iriafen notched her seventh double-double of the season and Watkins her fourth. Watkins has scored in double figures every game this season.
Howell, meanwhile, tied her high with 4 3-pointers for the second straight game and is 8-for-13 from long distance in that span.
"I'm always in the gym, whether that's outside of practice or during practices, but I think just I'm getting more comfortable with the role and the attention other people on our team draw," she said. "I think I'm doing a better job finding gaps and putting myself in the best position to be a pressure release for them."
