No. 3 USC Trojans cruise past Cal Poly Mustangs 90-35 in their Home Opener

            USC Trojans #12 JuJu Watkins (G) is being pressured and closely guarded by a Cal Poly defender.                                                                                         Photo by Michael Barnett/TGSportstv1.

 LOS ANGELES, CA - The No. 3 rank USC Trojans Women's Basketball Team had no problem with their 90-35 home opener win over the Cal Poly Mustangs at the Galen Center. The Trojans forced the Mustangs to commit 31 turnovers, which led to 35 points for them.

 USC had six players in double-figure, JuJu Watkins (G) and Kayleigh Heckel both with 16 points, Rayah Marshall (F/C) with 15 points, Malia Sanders (G) and Kiki Iriafen (F) both with 12 points, and Kennedy Smith (G) with 10 points.

Cal Poly had no answer for the Trojans from dominating the paint with 35 points, fast-break points 23, and second-chance points 13 was too much for them to overcome.

The Trojans took a 5-0 lead in the first quarter after a three-pointer by Kennedy Smith from the right side of the arc. The Trojans pushed their lead up to 10-4 with a layup by Rayah Marshall. Juju Watkins drove the left side of the baseline and went under the basket for a reverse layup to give USC a 14-4 lead.

Marshall would go up for a layup to make the score 28-4, forcing Cal Poly to call a time-out. USC would lead 40-6 to end the quarter with a driving layup by Watkins.

The Mustangs were down 40-13 in the second quarter thanks to a three-pointer by Mary Carter. USC continued to dominate Cal Poly, led 52-15 with a three-pointer by Marshall at the top of the key.

USC led 57-17 with a basket by Heckel, who was fouled on her shot and made her free throw to give USC a 57-17 lead at halftime.

Watkins led the Trojans in scoring, with 14 points, Marshall with 13 points, and Heckel with 11 points. Carter led the Mustangs in scoring, with 7 points, and Sydney Bourland with 6 points.

In the third quarter, the Galen Center went crazy after Malia Samuels' three-pointer from the right side of the basket to make the score 70-23. USC led 73-27 at the end of the quarter.

Heckel continued her hot three-point shooting in the fourth quarter, and made one from the top of the key to give the Trojans an 85-33 lead, and closed out the game on a 5-2 run to secure their second win of the season.

Sydney Bourland was the leading scorer for Cal Poly in scoring, with 15 points, and Mary Carter with 12 points. USC's next game will be on Tuesday, November 12, at the Galen Center against CSUN at 7 pm.