Watkins scores 21, No. 6 USC downs Oregon

EUGENE, Ore. — JuJu Watkins scored 21 points to lead No. 6 Southern California to a 66-53 win over Oregon in the Big Ten opener for both teams on Saturday.

Watkins was 6 for 15 from the field, including 3 of 9 on 3-pointers, in 28 minutes before fouling out. Kiki Iriafen added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Trojans (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten).

Deja Kelly scored 16 points and Peyton Scott added 13 to lead the Ducks (7-3, 0-1).

Oregon led 13-12 after the first quarter, but USC scored the first 18 points of the second quarter and never trailed again. The Trojans built the lead to 40-19 at halftime with 15 points from Watkins.

Scott opened the third quarter with four straight points, but USC scored five straight points right after and kept the lead in double digits the rest of the way.

Takeaways

USC: The Trojans won their fourth straight since a loss to No. 10 Notre Dame. USC returns to nonconference play over the next three weeks, including a trip to No. 2 UConn.

Oregon: The Ducks started the season 6-0 and moved up to No. 23 in the AP poll but have now lost three of four games.

Key moment

Kelly scored to put Oregon up 13-12 early, but USC held the Ducks scoreless for more than five minutes to start the second quarter while scoring 18 straight points. Watkins had a seven-point run of her own within that span.

USC hosts Fresno State on Tuesday night, and Oregon hosts Air Force on Dec. 17.

No. 7 MARYLAND 78, PURDUE 69

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Saylor Poffenbargar had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Bri McDaniel scored 16 points off the bench to lead No. 7 Maryland to a 78-69 victory over Purdue on Saturday.

Kaylene Smikle scored 13 and Shyanne Sellers added 12 for Maryland (10-0). Christina Dalce had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Terrapins rallied after a slow start, hitting just 2 of 17 shots in the first quarter to fall behind 18-6. The Boilermakers led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter. Purdue shot 52% while holding Maryland to 29% to take a 38-29 lead at halftime.

McDaniel hit a pull-up jumper with 2:24 left in the third quarter to give the Terrapins their first lead at 48-46. That capped an 8-0 run for Maryland, which led 55-52 after three quarters.

Purdue tied it at 55-all before the Terrapins went on a 6-0 run to take the lead for good.

Takeaways

Maryland: The Terrapins rebounded from a rough start to take control defensively.

Purdue: After surrendering the lead in the third quarter, Purdue kept fighting until the final minutes. The Boilermakers hit 6 of 13 free throws while Maryland was 14 of 19 from the foul line.

Key moment

After Purdue’s Lombard tied the game at 55-all on a 3-pointer, Poffenbargar started a 6-0 run with a second-chance basket.

TENNESSEE 78, No. 17 IOWA 68

NEW YORK — Talaysia Cooper scored 19 of her 23 points in the second half to help Tennessee beat No. 17 Iowa 78-68 on Saturday night in the inaugural Women’s Champions Classic.

Her jumper with 3:04 left in the fourth gave the Lady Vols (7-0) a 68-67 lead and sparked a 12-1 run to close the game away. Cooper scored four straight in the spurt including one off a steal on the inbounds with 1:23 left to seal the victory.

Lucy Olsen scored 23 points for Iowa (8-1), which committed a season-high 30 turnovers.

It was a matchup of two first-year head coaches at their schools. Jan Jensen took over for Lisa Bluder, who retired in the offseason after leading Iowa to two straight national championship games. Jensen, who was an assistant at Iowa for the previous 24 years, was the first coach in school history to begin her career 8-0.

Kim Caldwell came to Tennessee after a successful stint at Marshall and before that at Division II Glenville State. She brought her fast-paced pressing style to Tennessee as well as her hockey line changes.