Unanimous first-team all-Big Ten forward Kiki Iriafen scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as No. 2 Southern California pulled away late for an 82-70 win over fifth-seeded Michigan in the first Big Ten tournament semifinal Saturday in Indianapolis.
JuJu Watkins scored 11 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter and added 11 rebounds as the top-seeded Trojans (28-2) rallied from their second halftime deficit this season to advance to Sunday’s championship game against No. 4 UCLA, which defeated No. 13 Ohio State in the second semifinal on Saturday.
Freshman Syla Swords paced the Wolverines (22-10) with 26 points and six rebounds. Fellow freshman Olivia Olson posted 13 points and nine rebounds while Jordan Hobbs added 12 points.
Michigan had chances to pull off its first win over a Top 2 team in program history. The Wolverines built a 27-18 first-half lead, owned a 46-39 lead midway through the third quarter and forged a 60-60 tie on Swords’ pair of free throws with 6:29 left. But USC reeled off the next 14 points against a Wolverines squad playing their third game in 48 hours.
No. 4 UCLA 75, No. 13 Ohio State 46
Londynn Jones scored a season-high 22 points and No. 4 UCLA shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half to spark the Big Ten tournament semifinal rout of No. 13 Ohio State in Indianapolis.
Gabriela Jaquez hit all five of her shots in the half to account for all 12 of her points on the day to lead the second-seeded Bruins (29-2) to a 44-21 halftime lead. Lauren Betts finished with 12 points and six rebounds, while Angela Dugalic added 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds for UCLA, which owned a 43-25 advantage on the glass.
Freshman Jaloni Cambridge paced the third-seeded Buckeyes (25-6) with 10 points, but she was one of two unanimous all-Big Ten players Ohio State lost to injury in the third quarter. Cambridge left with 5:10 to go after rolling her left ankle upon stepping on a UCLA player’s shoe. Two minutes later, Cotie McMahon landed hard on her right elbow on a foul and went to the bench at the next dead ball. Neither player returned.
–Field Level Media
