By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer
MADISON, Wis. — The USC women’s basketball team regrouped before leaving the Midwest and heading back home.
Kiki Iriafen scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack as the seventh-ranked Trojans bounced back from a rare loss and never trailed in an 86-64 victory over Wisconsin on Wednesday night.
USC (20-2 overall, 10-1 Big Ten), which had 17 steals while forcing 24 Wisconsin turnovers, was finishing a two-game trip after its 15-game winning streak ended Sunday with a 76-69 loss at Iowa.
USC’s JuJu Watkins, who entered the game averaging 24.7 points to rank third in Division I, was held to a season-low 14 points in 26 minutes. Avery Howell also scored 14, Talia von Oelhoffen had 11 and Kayleigh Heckel added 10.
After shooting a season-low 35.4% from the floor against Iowa, USC returned to form Wednesday by shooting 50.7%.
Serah Williams scored 19 points and Carter McCray and Tess Myers added 12 each for Wisconsin (11-12, 2-10), which lost for the 10th time in 11 games to drop below .500 for the first time this season.
Williams, the Big Ten’s third-leading scorer behind Watkins and UCLA’s Lauren Betts, did everything she could to keep Wisconsin competitive. After shooting 0 for 7 in the first seven minutes, she was 8 for 13 the rest of the way.
After falling behind 13-3 early, Wisconsin trailed just 23-20 when Ronnie Porter missed a potential tying 3-pointer with less than four minutes left in the second quarter. That’s as close as the Badgers would get.
Watkins made the game’s first basket but didn’t score again for more than 18 minutes. She scored five points during a 10-4 run over the last 1:39 of the second quarter to give USC a 39-28 halftime lead.
USC stayed in command the rest of the way, leading by as much as 24 points. The Trojan reserves outscored their Wisconsin peers 33-8.
USC had a 44-26 advantage in points in the paint and a 22-6 margin in fast-break points.
UP NEXT
USC hosts No. 8 Ohio State on Saturday at 6 p.m.