LAS VEGAS — It ended, fittingly, with one final body bump, USC’s McKenzie’s Forbes collapsing to the hardwood after a final-second foul from UCLA’s Gabriela Jacquez. Falling unceremoniously, smacking the court again – but with a smile, because there was nothing left but to smile.
The crosstown rivals fought until they couldn’t possibly fight anymore in the desert on Friday night, a classic in the Pac-12 tournament’s final days unfolding in front of the eyes of thumping loyalists and stragglers at MGM Grand. It ended not in a miracle but in a fittingly appropriate double-overtime slog, USC freshman JuJu Watkins somehow recovering from not one but two mid-game exits writhing in pain from an ankle injury and playing every minute of the extra periods on her way to 33 points.
And as Forbes drained her late free throws and the buzzer sounded on an 80-70 USC win, Rayah Marshall snagged a rebound and roared with every decibel left in a tired voice, every fiber left in weary muscles, Kaitlyn Davis and teammates leaping for joy after felling their cross-town rivals once more and proving themselves in the desert.
“I think we’ve shown throughout the year,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said earlier this week, “that we can beat anyone.”
The second-seeded Trojans (25-5) advance to play top-seeded Stanford (27-4) on Sunday afternoon in the tournament title game – one final chance to stamp their imprint on the conference before a run in the NCAA tournament.
After third-seeded UCLA’s quarterfinal victory over Utah on Thursday night, Bruins coach Cori Close said she anticipated the outcome of Friday’s cross-town rematch in the Pac-12 tournament semifinal to hinge on “which team can play to their identity most consistently.” And this is such a fascinating matchup, really, because the Bruins and Trojans – who split their two regular-season meetings – are often drastically ideologically opposed, bulldozing interior fire clashing with flowing perimeter water in a destructive blend of elements.
And when they collided again, the bodies hit the floor, crumpling against hardwood as nails scratched against skin. None other than Watkins was the first to go down, collapsing ominously on a drive not a minute into the game. She came up gritting her teeth, ginger on her left ankle, hobbling off the court and directly to the tunnel.
Faced for a moment with the prospect of their best player sidelined, USC didn’t flinch, even as UCLA star post player Lauren Betts (18 points, 17 rebounds) attempted to assert her presence early. After a couple of Betts buckets outmuscling USC’s Marshall, Gottlieb subbed in seldom-used big Clarice Akunwafo, who visibly frustrated Betts with her physicality. USC’s perimeter defenders flew around to force six first-quarter turnovers. As Watkins trotted back out just a few minutes after her exit, USC mounted a 16-0 run to close the opening period, back-to-back 3-pointers from a roaring McKenzie Forbes and Watkins pushing USC’s lead to 24-8.
Temporary. After a visibly frustrating first quarter for Close, the Bruins (25-6) came out in the second quarter and slowed the game to a crawl – re-discovering their identity and cutting off all of USC’s momentum on a parade of foul calls. Stalwart guard Kiki Rice was the catalyst, barreling downhill for a tough finish early in the quarter, skidding across the hardwood to grab a loose ball the next possession and ignite UCLA’s bench.
Suddenly, the Bruins found their rhythm in a grittiness anchored by Betts, their offense opening up with inside-out passing. The game dredged into mud for much of the quarter, Rice involuntarily popping Marshall in the face on one offensive foul, Marshall turning to her family in the stands and pointing at a rapidly swelling eye. And senior Charisma Osborne (21 points) dragged UCLA out of its self-created muck, burying back-to-back 3-pointers late in the quarter, buoying a 16-0 run right back to pull the Bruins back from the brink.
A back-and-forth third quarter, then, gave way to a scintillating game within a game, the programs’ heart and souls duking it out in a matchup with no humility. At the end of the third quarter Friday night, Osborne hounded Watkins so aggressively that the star freshman couldn’t get a shot off before the buzzer. Watkins laughed as the horn sounded, extending the ball. Osborne slapped it away. Watkins scoffed at her walking away, throwing her hand up as she went back to the bench.
And the true war began.
After a variety of double-teams and screens hedged on Watkins, Osborne assumed fourth-quarter matchup duties, just a quarter after crumpling to a heap late in the second quarter and exiting with injury. And she visibly frustrated Watkins, absorbing a bump on a baseline drive and forcing a mess, coming down in transition and burying a furious pull-up jumper. She barked at Watkins coming back down the floor, clapping her hands, putting UCLA ahead 49-48.
Watkins – who shot 9 for 27 from the field and 14 for 17 from the free-throw line – struck back, not a couple of minutes later. She spun through a thicket of arms, somehow floating up a jumper with Osborne draped across her back, banking it home. She plowed right into Osborne’s body on the next possession, putting a layup home, putting USC back up with a few minutes to play.
Breaths grew tight as Osborne found UCLA’s Angela Dugalic for a 3-pointer to tie the score at 59-59 with 1:35 left. Watkins had her opportunity to strike back after Kayla Padilla swatted away a Londynn Jones layup with 18 seconds left, but was hounded by Osborne into a turnover, bringing on overtime in Vegas.
With a minute left in OT and a hobbled Watkins missing a free throw, Davis – who barged around the paint like a baby elephant all night – grabbed a rebound and found Forbes for a massive game-tying 3-pointer. The very next possession, she skied to swallow a Lauren Betts layup, forcing a jump ball and roaring in glee to her bench. After another missed Watkins 3-point attempt, UCLA inexplicably didn’t get off a shot before the buzzer with two seconds left, sending a Pac-12 classic into double overtime and an eventual USC win.
