No. 4 Lady Trojans cruise past PSU
LOS ANGELES — JuJu Watkins scored 35 points, leading an 18-0 run with 10 points before halftime, and No. 4 Southern California defeated Penn State 95-73 on Sunday night in one of the first sporting events held in Los Angeles since the deadly wildfires began.
Watkins was 13 of 15 from the floor, making all eight of her shots in the first half, and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line to go with 11 rebounds, five steals and three blocks. The stellar sophomore opened the big second-quarter run with a 3-pointer and closed it with a three-point play in which she stole the ball, scored and got fouled, landing on her rear.
The Trojans (16-1, 6-0 Big Ten) got 28 points from Kiki Iriafen.
Talayah Walker scored 18 points to lead the Nittany Lions (9-8, 0-6). Bellwood-Antis product Alli Campbell scored 10 points.
The Lady Lions haven’t won since Dec. 11 at Providence and have dropped six in a row and seven of nine.
Takeaways
Penn State: The Lions outscored USC 21-20 in the third but still trailed by 24 points.
USC: Watkins and Iriafen have scored in double figures in all 17 games this season.
Key moment
USC freshman Kayleigh Heckel scored five in a row in the third, when Watkins and Iriafen had all of their team’s other points. As the shortest player on the court, the 5-foot-9 Heckel grabbed a defensive rebound and dribbled the length of court while dodging defenders to score. She followed with a 3-pointer that stretched the lead to 26 points.
Key stat
Penn State committed 21 turnovers that led to 27 points by USC.
Up next
Penn State plays No. 1 UCLA on Wednesday in Long Beach in a game moved because of concerns about the wildfires near the Bruins’ campus. USC visits Indiana on Sunday to open a two-game Midwest trip.
PENN ST. (9-8): Hall 2-9 0-0 4, Merkle 5-10 3-4 13, Campbell 4-8 0-2 10, Elliott 5-18 4-4 14, Murray 1-3 0-0 2, Johnson 2-3 0-0 4, Rust 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 1-2 1-2 4, Jekot 1-2 0-0 2, Santana 0-0 0-0 0, Steele 0-2 2-4 2, Walker 6-14 6-6 18, Totals 27-71 16-22 73
SOUTHERN CAL (16-1): Iriafen 12-18 4-7 28, Marshall 1-2 0-0 2, Smith 2-8 0-0 5, von Oelhoffen 2-8 2-2 6, Watkins 13-15 7-9 35, Iwuchukwu 0-1 2-4 2, Akunwafo 0-0 0-0 0, Forestier 0-0 0-0 0, Gayles 0-1 0-0 0, Heckel 4-6 0-0 9, Howell 2-8 0-0 5, Samuels 1-3 0-0 3, Shamblin 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 37-71 15-22 95
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Penn St. 18 13 21 21 — 73
Southern Cal 27 29 20 19 — 95
3-Point Goals–Penn St. 3-12 (Campbell 2-3, Elliott 0-4, Murray 0-2, Williams 1-1, Walker 0-2), Southern Cal 6-25 (Iriafen 0-1, Smith 1-5, von Oelhoffen 0-5, Watkins 2-3, Gayles 0-1, Heckel 1-1, Howell 1-7, Samuels 1-2). Assists–Penn St. 18 (Campbell 4, Hall 4, Walker 4), Southern Cal 22 (Heckel 4, Iriafen 4, von Oelhoffen 4). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Penn St. 44 (Hall 9), Southern Cal 38 (Watkins 11). Total Fouls–Penn St. 13, Southern Cal 19. Technical Fouls–None. A–5,881.
SFU women crush Le Moyne
LORETTO — The Saint Francis women’s basketball team evened its mark in the Northeast Conference at 2-2 with a dominant 73-41 victory over winless Le Moyne on Saturday at DeGol Arena.
The Red Flash improved to 4-13 overall and got a team-high 14 points from Airah Lavy, including a 4-for-5 effort from beyond the 3-point line.
“I definitely see the progression. And not only my game but the team’s game,” Lavy said. “I feel like we all have gotten progressively better. We’re all sharing the ball, scoring, rebounding, and doing everything we need to do to win. It shows out there on the floor.”
Marina Artero added 11 rebounds for Saint Francis, which outrebounded Le Moyne, 47-31.
Marissa Shelton scored 12 points for the Red Flash, and Ineivi Plata had a team-high five assists.
“We talked to our team on Thursday night about the effort they’ve been putting in and how we were building off the tough games we played in the non-conference,” Saint Francis coach Keila Whittington said. “Now that we’ve started conference play, how every game, every day, we need to grow. It’s great to see like another start to finish, when proud of the entire team because everybody who came in contributed in some way, shape or form.”
LE MOYNE (41): Clark 4-11 1-1 11, Roberts 4-8 3-5 11, Bodziony 3-8 1-4 7, Florvil 0-4 0-0, Linnin 0-3 0-0 0, Adeyemi 3-6 0-0 6, Williams 0-6 3-4 3, Postell 1-3 0-0 2, Yanogacio 0-7 1-2 1, Lombardi 0-1 0-0 0. Totals — 15-57 9-16 41.
SAINT FRANCIS (73): Shelton 4-11 2-2 12, Gibson 3-3 0-0 6, Boyd 1-5 2-2 4, Artero 2-4 0-0 4, Plata 1-4 0-0 2, Lavy 4-6 2-2 14, Robinson 3-4 0-0 8, Bell 3-4 2-3 8, Johnson 2-3 0-0 5, Walker 1-2 2-2 4, Eke 2-5 0-2 4, Campbell 0-4 2-2 2, Daffe 0-1 0-0 0. Totals — 26-56 12-15.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Le Moyne 13 10 8 10 — 41
Saint Francis 22 19 21 11 — 73
3-point goals: Le Moyne 2-18 (Clark 2-5, Bodziony 0-2, Linnin 0-3, Roberts 0-4, Yanogacio 0-4); Saint Francis 9-20 (Lavy 4-5, Robinson 2-3, Shelton 2-7, Johnson 1-1, Campbell 0-1, Plata 0-1, Boyd 0-2). Assists: Le Moyne 6 (Williams 2); Saint Francis 19 (Plata 5). Rebounds: Le Moyne 31 (Bodziony 6); Saint Francis 47 (Artero 11).
Records: Le Moyne (0-16, 0-3 in NEC); Saint Francis (4-13, 2-2 in NEC).
PSU Altoona prevails
ALFRED, N.Y. — The Penn State Altoona women’s basketball team earned its fourth Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference win of the season in commanding fashion on Saturday, when the Lions topped conference opponent Alfred State College, 70-40, in the Orvis Gymnasium.
Penn State Altoona (7-7, 4-1 AMCC) started and finished strong, outscoring Alfred State (3-11, 2-3 AMCC) 18-3 in the first quarter and later posting a 16-8 scoring advantage over the Pioneers in the fourth. The Lions’ defense kept Alfred State in check throughout the contest, holding the Pioneers to just a 16.1 percent field goal percentage.
Jess Burns, Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood-Antis) and Avana Sayles scored 14 points apiece for Penn State Altoona. Burns also recorded six rebounds, two assists, and two steals, McCracken had five rebounds, two assists, and two steals, and Sayles totaled a team-best nine rebounds while contributing two assists.
The Lions return home for their next game, when they will welcome Carlow University to the Adler Arena on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. matchup.