Watkins leads No. 3 USC to blowout win over Cal Poly

LOS ANGELES (AP) — JuJu Watkins scored 16 points, freshman Kaleigh Heckel added 16 points off the bench and No. 3 Southern California routed Cal Poly 90-35 on Saturday in the Trojans’ home opener.

The Trojans (2-0) showed no jet lag from their season-opening 68-66 victory over No. 20 Ole Miss in Paris on Monday. They jumped on the Mustangs from the opening tip, taking a 40-6 lead after the opening quarter.

Sydney Bourland had 12 points and six rebounds to lead Cal Poly (1-1). Mary Carter added 11 points.

USC kept it up in the second quarter, outscoring the Mustangs 17-11 to lead 57-17 at halftime.

The Trojans’ defense never allowed Cal Poly to make a sustained run.

Takeaways

Cal Poly: The Mustangs have nine newcomers — eight freshmen and one grad transfer — for the second straight year. They’ll need time to mesh under third-year coach Shanele Stires, who took a three-win team in 2022 to 10 wins in 2023 and 17 last season.

USC: The Trojans had six players in double figures and led in nearly every statistical category. Heckel, a McDonald’s All-American out of New York, finished 6 of 10 from the floor, made 3 of 4 free throws and had five of her team’s 19 steals.

Key moment

Rayah Marshall scored her 1,000th career point on a layup at 6:52 of the first quarter, joining an exclusive club that includes Cheryl Miller, Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson. The junior from Los Angeles grabbed the offensive rebound of Kiki Iriafen’s missed 3-pointer and scored. Marshall finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Key stat

The Mustangs had 31 turnovers that led to 35 points for the Trojans.

Up next

Cal Poly visits Montana State on Tuesday. USC hosts Cal State Northridge on Tuesday.

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