JuJu Watkins and Rayah Marshall lead USC women past Michigan

Except for JuJu Watkins, USC’s players were struggling to find their shot.

A 10-point USC lead turned into a deficit during the third quarter. With Kiki Iriafen stuck on the bench in foul trouble, the Trojans needed someone to spark a rally.

Enter the all-too-reliable Rayah Marshall, the longest-tenured starter on the team.

She isn’t the flashiest player and she’ll rarely be the leading scorer with Watkins on the floor, but when USC needed a bruising option to force into the paint for second-chance looks, the senior got the job done against Michigan on Sunday night.

“Welcome to Big Ten basketball,” Marshall said.

Stripping the ball from Michigan guard Jordan Hobbs with 5:05 remaining in the third quarter, the 6-foot-4 forward forced a shot up while barreling toward the basket. She got smacked, but the ball went in. The converted three-point play was one of many Marshall made on her way to tying a season-high with 15 points in No. 4 USC’s 78-58 victory over No. 23 Michigan at Galen Center.

“The difference in Rayah’s leadership, just the growth she’s had from freshman year on, she can really listen, understand what I’m asking and then get other players to go along too,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “And everyone just was along for that. … Ray is the catalyst for [the third-quarter run].”

Marshall’s seven third-quarter points and two assists drove the Trojans (12-1, 2-0) to a 10-point lead, helping facilitate for Watkins, who led the game with 31 points (including 13 on free throws). Iriafen scored 12 of her 18 points in a dominating fourth-quarter effort before fouling out with under two minutes left.

USC guard JuJu Watkins collides with Michigan Wolverines guard Greta Kampschroeder.

“Being the competitor that I am, I just took [Gottlieb’s halftime message] to heart, and just tried to get my teammates to go out there with the same hunger and compete,” Marshall said.

Michigan was without star freshman and leading scorer Syla Swords because of injury. The Trojans’ guards held the Wolverines’ second-leading scorer, freshman Olivia Olson, scoreless in the first half and to just 11 points. Hobbs led her team in scoring, with 14 of her 19 points coming in the Wolverines’ second-quarter surge.

Freshman guard Kennedy Smith, in her second game back from an undisclosed operation, was key to holding Michigan’s guards at bay. The former Gatorade California girl’s basketball player of the year co-led the team with three steals and played lockdown defense in front of players from the Etiwanda High girl’s basketball team — her alma mater — attending the game.

“She’s an incredible defender,” Gottlieb said of Smith. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had a better defender coming in as a freshman. Just her mind, her understanding of defensive schemes and her physical ability. How quickly she’s come back from this injury is really special.”

USC held Michigan (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten) to its lowest scoring total of the season, with the Wolverines averaging 83.7 points a game entering the contest.

USC guard Kennedy Smith steals the ball from Michigan guard Mila Holloway during the first half Sunday.

Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico credited the Wolverines’ offensive struggles to USC’s relentless press, with the Trojans using Marshall to defend guards, creating confusion on inbound plays. The Wolverines didn’t score once off a fast break.

“Who wouldn’t want to see Rayah at the front of a press,” Gottlieb said about the 8,043 fans in attendance, “or the way that we play with one another? We’re trying to put a good product on the floor that people want to come see.”

With another Big Ten contest on the horizon, Gottlieb said she was grateful for the substantial holiday season crowd on a Sunday night.

“It’s just not lost on me ever,” she said. “To walk out there and see people in that upper row — Rayah and I were here when it was my family and hers. That’s it.”

USC finishes its homestand with a New Year’s Day contest against Nebraska. No. 1 UCLA handily defeated the Cornhuskers 91-54 on Sunday.