No. 4 Trojans use 31-0 run to rout Purdue

USC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Purdue’s Rashunda Jones, right, fouls USC’s Avery Howell during Wednesday’s Big Ten game in West Lafayette, Ind. Howell scored 18 points. Michael Conroy / ap

Image

By Michael Marot

The Associated Press

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Freshman Avery Howell scored a season-high 18 points, JuJu Watkins added 16 points and seven rebounds and No. 4 USC nearly pitched a second-quarter shutout as it routed Purdue 79-37 in a Big Ten Conference game on Wednesday.

The Trojans (18-1, 8-0 Big Ten) allowed just two points in the second quarter en route to their 14th consecutive win. Four conference victories have come by 20 or more points.

Kendall Puryear led Purdue (7-12, 0-8) with 10 points as the Boilermakers lost their seventh straight.

Destini Lombard scored all eight of her points in the first four minutes as the Boilermakers jumped to a surprising 16-10 first-quarter lead over the Trojans.

But the Trojans responded with a 31-0 run that didn’t end until Jordyn Poole beat the shot-clock buzzer with a mid-range jumper at the 1:57 mark in the second quarter. Southern Cal still led 46-18 at halftime, and Purdue never recovered.

USC starting forward Kiki Iriafen did not return after hurting her ankle in the second quarter. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb said the Trojans are hopeful it won’t be anything “too significant.”