It was halftime of the Big Ten Women’s Tournament Championship Game and USC led UCLA by 10, both teams in their inaugural year in the Big Ten. Juju Watkins had 20 points and the USC defense was shutting down the Bruins at every stop. The table was set for the no. 2 team in the country to take down no. 4 en route to the NCAA Tournament and an almost-guaranteed no. 1 seed in the tourney.

However, things changed in that UCLA locker room and the Bruins came out swinging in the second half.

What was an unstoppable Trojan offense fell into a huge slump, throwing away passes, missing layups and just not gelling in general.

Lead players Kiki Irafen and Juju Watkins grew visibly frustrated during the second half, as if a lid was on the basket, keeping their shots from falling.

The Bruins stepped their defense up exponentially, pressuring Watkins and keeping her to less than 10 points in the second half and forcing multiple turnovers on her, rendering her almost helpless.

Going into the game, the two teams had been almost identical in the stats, so it was guaranteed to be a fight to the finish, and that’s exactly what it was.

The deciding factor came down to shooting. UCLA hit 23 shots while USC hit 24,however the Bruins only took 44 shots compared to the Trojans’ 70 shots, for a massive differential.

It came down to shooting and defense and the Bruins edged out the Trojans in both, for a 72-67 win and a ticket punched to the NCAA Tournament.

-Reggie Edwards