a jump shot to give her team a 20-point advantage in the final quarter, putting the Bruins away.

USC looked sharp from the beginning. Watkins found comfortable spots to glide to her 3-point shot and the Trojans passed the ball just as smoothly. They went on a 9-0 scoring run within the first three minutes of the game.

UCLA manufactured its own scoring run and strung together six points but still wasn’t close to closing the gap. Watkins continued to sink 3s and finished the opening quarter with 13 points.

A switch somewhere deep in UCLA flipped with two minutes to go in the quarter. Watkins had missed two straight 3s and was facing double-teams from Londynn Jones and Kiki Rice. Rice blocked a shot by Kayleigh Heckel and the Bruins got the ball to Angela Dugalic.

Pauley Pavilion was almost silent as Dugalic arched back for a shot, then sent the crowd roaring when she hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with one minute on the clock. The basket cut USC’s lead to 23-20.

The Bruins were trying to catch lightning in a bottle, though. USC came out strong again at the start of the second quarter and kept rattling UCLA, which shot 30.8% in the period. The Trojans were double-teaming not just Betts, but anyone who had the ball in their hands.

USC scored 17 points off turnovers in the first half and pulled ahead 36-32 at halftime.

Both teams have a brief rest until the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, which is slated for Wednesday-March9 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. After that, Selection Sunday is on March 16.