On senior night at Desert Financial Arena, the USC Trojans went into Tempe and blew out the Arizona State Sun Devils, 70-55, in the final regular season meeting between the two as Pac-12 opponents.
Not only was it the last meeting between the two teams, but it was the last of ASU’s regular season Pac-12 matchups.
Head coach Natasha Adair took some time to reflect on the Pac-12 conference.
“Well, it was the best,” Adair said. “You get to coach alongside hall of famers, icons, champions, and you knew you were going to be challenged as a coach. You knew you were going to be pushed as a coach. You knew you were going to be able to recruit the best players in the country to play on the biggest stage. For me, having coached at every level, this was the box I wanted to check.”
The final home game of the season also means senior night, and senior guards Treasure Hunt, Maggie Besselink, and Jaddan Simmons were all honored before the game.
“[Simmons] is someone that you don’t even, she doesn’t get enough credit,” Adair said. “She comes in every day, and she works. She’s so consistent; she’s super steady. She’d be really good at like poker or chess, you never know, she doesn’t get too high, too low.”
Star freshman guard JuJu Watkins and the rest of the USC Trojans could not be stopped in the first quarter. The Trojans scored 18 points in the first quarter, all either by Watkins or junior forward Rayah Marshall.
Watkins went into the game averaging just shy of 28 points per game.
Sophomore guard Trayanna Crisp, who went into the game averaging 11.7 points per game on the season and 13.4 points per game since Jan. 21, was the Sun Devils offense in the first half, scoring 12 of their 26 first-half points.
The Trojans were all over the glass early. At halftime, they had a 31-18 rebounding advantage, with 10 of those boards on the offensive end. They also had an 11-0 second-chance points advantage.
In the end, those numbers ended up being 54-34 and 21-0.
“Twenty-one second-chance points was the difference,” Adair said. “That’s really it.”
After Watkins’ 11 first-quarter points, the Sun Devils started doubling her off screens. The Devils’ defensive intensity generally picked up in the second quarter.
Despite her best attempts to split the doubles, Watkins was, for the most part, contained, but the Trojans found other ways.
Redshirt sophomore guard Taylor Bigby, senior guard Kayla Williams, and redshirt sophomore guard Dominique Darius each hit a three off the bench in the second quarter for the Trojans.
It was a sequence from Watkins in the third quarter that started to put the game away for the Trojans. In the span of a minute or two, she had a tough bucket, followed by a steal and a breakaway layup.
Then, the next possession down, she drew a charge from Crisp, then scored again.
Watkins left the game with 1:55 left in the third quarter. The Sun Devils then closed the quarter on a 7-0 run.
Then, they started the fourth with a three-pointer from graduate student guard Isadora Sousa when she was handed a grenade, chucking one up from deep and beating the buzzer.
However, the same problems persisted throughout the game on the glass. The Sun Devils’ game plan to double and trap Watkins off screens worked pretty well, but they struggled to get the rebounds and finish defensive possessions.
“I thought our defense did well,” Adair said. Jaddan Simmons, who had the assignment early, I thought our traps—we were trying to put JuJu in a wall—you saw that work. Our first-shot defense was phenomenal.”
Among the first words that Adair said at the podium was “rebound.”
The Sun Devils will now get ready to head to Las Vegas for what will be the final Pac-12 basketball tournament.
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