LOS ANGELES — The USC women’s basketball team breathes in the national spotlight because of its fast-paced offense and flashy superstar JuJu Watkins. But what separates these Trojans from their peers, and increases their ceiling from last year’s Elite 8 run, is their defensive versatility.

One in which, Watkins, the point guard, is tied for the team lead in blocks and center Rayah Marshall is the head of the snake on their full-court press.

In USC’s opening-round game of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, that defense allowed the Trojans to survive a slow start as it suffocated UNC Greensboro and made up for the sloppy offensive play, boosting the Trojans to a 71-25 win at the Galen Center.

“Our defense is something that we really take pride in,” Watkins said. “And, I think, because we couldn’t really get it going on offense, we relied on our defensive ability.”

The Trojans (29-3) won the Big Ten regular-season title largely on the back of their offense, while the Spartans won the Southern Conference regular-season and postseason titles because of their defense, which allows the fewest points in the nation (51.8 per game). But it was the Trojans who were stifling and sturdy defensively, limiting the Spartans to the second-lowest total in an NCAA Tournament women’s game. USC matches Duke, which beat Lehigh 86-25 on Friday. Howard scored just 21 points against South Carolina in 2022.

USC held the Spartans to 7-of-54 shooting from the field, including a second quarter in which they went without a field goal.

Marshall had a season-high seven blocks to go with a pair of steals. Watkins grabbed three steals and led USC with 22 points, as she fought through a pair of injuries.

Early in the first half, Watkins was in clear discomfort, grabbing and shaking her left hand as a player does after jamming a finger, trying to wring the injury out. It wasn’t visible in the box score, and she did well to hide it apart from the initial wincing, coming out of halftime with a wrap around her fingers and finishing layups with the right hand on the left side a handful of times.

Watkins also couldn’t catch a pass that Kennedy Smith rifled her way in the first quarter.

Even hampered, she was USC’s clear best source of offense. Smith overthrew Marshall on a post-entry pass. Kiki Iriafen committed a pair of offensive fouls and a traveling violation. Talia Von Oelhoffen rushed a drive and dribbled it off her foot.

“We were a little bit rusty offensively early,” USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “But, I thought, we figured it out together. I thought our defense was our calling card. I think the pressure helped get us going.”

The Trojans turned it over 11 times in the first half. They led just 12-8 at the end of the first quarter. From that point on, though, they allowed UNC Greensboro (25-7) just 17 points.

On the first possession of the second quarter, Marshall sent back Nya Smith’s shot attempt for her third block. Marshall protected the rim and was also on the front line of the Trojans’ press, her 6-foot-4 frame and activity agitating the Spartans.

“She’s so good there,” Gottlieb said. “She’s always been long, she moves really well laterally. Over the last year or two, she’s really owned that spot, takes a lot of pride in her angles. She’s very smart there.”

Watkins, on the next line of the press, benefited from Marshall’s aggression. She picked Jayde Gamble’s pocket and finished the break with a euro-step layup that gave USC its first double-digit lead.

If a jammed finger wasn’t enough, Watkins turned her ankle midway through the third quarter on a drive to the basket. She recovered quickly, re-entering the play unguarded to knock down a corner 3-pointer, but left the game and went to the locker room on the next dead ball.

With her out, USC’s defense held strong. Guards Kayleigh Heckel and Malia Samuels came off the bench and hounded the Spartans’ ball-handlers. Heckel stole the ball from Makiah Asidanya and went baseline to baseline for a layup. Then Samuels stepped in front of the ensuing inbound pass and finished through contact for an and-one reverse.

“They really turned the game around for us,” Watkins said of her backcourt reserves.

With USC leading 53-16 at the end of the third quarter, Watkins returned to the game, again masking her pain. She drove for a layup, which gave her 22 points, and fed Iriafen for a pair of baskets before finally subbing out.

In the end, the Trojans won in blowout fashion, but it wasn’t their ordinary, offensively potent dominance. They did it with defense, showing no fear when the game slowed down and got mucky. And Watkins, bound by injuries but playing through them, represented her team’s fight.

Rhythm will come on offense for this USC team, which ranks ninth in the country with 81.5 points per game. But gritty performances, like Saturday’s when defense was the headliner, show the Trojans’ potential for a deeper run.

“We’re a different team than we were last year,” Gottlieb said. “We really worked to have synergy with one another on the court, and to have an identity on both ends of the floor.”