Big Ten tournament roundup: No. 2 USC, No. 4 UCLA advance to semis

JuJu Watkins produced 31 points and 10 rebounds as second-ranked and top-seeded Southern California held on for an 84-79 victory over ninth-seeded Indiana in Big Ten tournament quarterfinal play Friday afternoon in Indianapolis. The Big Ten's Player of the Year hit 10 of 19 shots from the field and 10 of 13 at the line. First-team all-Big Ten forward Kiki Iriafen added 21 points and 10 rebounds for the top-seeded Trojans (27-2), who advanced to face Michigan in Saturday's first semifinal. USC beat the Wolverines 78-58 on Dec. 29 in Los Angeles. Yarden Garzon hit 5 3-pointers on her way to 23 points and eight rebounds for the Hoosiers (19-12). Chloe Moore-McNeil notched 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Shay Ciezki added 15 points and three blocks. Playing without senior center Rayah Marshall (7.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.1 bpg) due to illness, USC never led by double figures and clung to a 59-57 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Trojans gained some breathing room, but Lilly Meister hit a pair of free throws to get the Hoosiers within 71-68 with 3:30 left. Talia Von Oelhoffen and Watkins responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to all but clinch USC's eighth straight win. Michigan 98, No. 15 Maryland 71 After squandering nearly all of a 25-point lead in the first half, the fifth-seeded Wolverines calmly built a bigger lead in the second half to spring the quarterfinal upset of the fourth-seeded Terrapins. Jordan Hobbs scored 23 points, Syla Swords posted 22 points and six assists and Olivia Olson added 20 points and five assists for Michigan (22-9), which reeled off 25 straight points to seize a 31-6 lead early in the second quarter. The Wolverines drilled 12 of their 23 3-point attempts and shot 61 percent from the field overall. Maryland (23-7) went scoreless for 16 possessions in a row to fall behind by 25, but Sarah Te-Biasu delivered 16 of her 25 points during the second quarter as the Terps reeled off 16 consecutive points to get as close as 38-37 just before the half. Christina Dalce added 19 points. Hobbs swished a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to restore a four-point edge, then added eight more points in the third as the Wolverines built a 69-49 lead heading into the fourth. They pushed their margin all the way to 98-68 in the waning moments. No. 4 UCLA 85, Nebraska 74 Lauren Betts stacked up 28 points, 13 rebounds, seven blocks, five assists and three steals to lead the second-seeded Bruins to a hard-earned quarterfinal win over the 10th-seeded Cornhuskers. Gabriela Jaquez added 23 points and nine rebounds for the second-seeded Bruins (28-2), who held a 64-60 lead with 8:33 left before gradually pulling away. UCLA will meet Ohio State in Saturday's second semifinal. The Bruins defeated the Buckeyes 65-52 Feb. 5 at home. Freshman Britt Prince paced Nebraska (21-11) with 24 points and six assists while Alexis Markowski contributed 11 points and Alberte Rimdal added 10. The Huskers forged a 47-47 knot on Prince's feed to Callin Hake for a transition layup with 7:38 left in the third, but that's when it got tougher for the Huskers to find the hoop. UCLA claimed a 62-55 lead heading into the fourth. The Bruins finished with nine blocks and forced 15 turnovers to offset a 6-for-29 effort from 3-point range. No. 13 Ohio State 60, Iowa 59 Cotie McMahon hit two free throws with 6.7 seconds left to lift the third-seeded Buckeyes to the narrow victory over the 11th-seeded Hawkeyes. Iowa had two shots to win, but Hannah Stuelke's 15-foot baseline jumper rimmed off at the buzzer. McMahon scored six of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter for third-seeded Ohio State (25-5). Taylor Thierry contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Sydney Affolter drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to give Iowa (22-10) a 59-58 edge with 1:18 left. Affolter, Stuelke and Lucy Olsen posted 14 points apiece as the Hawkeyes fell just short of winning for the third time in 48 hours. Stuelke added 12 rebounds. --Field Level Media