History repeats itself as No. 4 USC women handle No. 2 UCLA

USC's performance resembled what it did on Feb. 13 in a 71-60 win over UCLA. In that game — the only other loss this season for the Bruins — USC held UCLA to 2-of-13 from three-point range and scored 21 points off 20 UCLA turnovers.

On Saturday night, UCLA was held to 5-of-20 from behind the arc and turned the ball over 16 times, resulting in 25 points from USC. 

After scoring 38 points in the first meeting with UCLA, USC star sophomore JuJu Watkins had 30 points (10-of-22 FG), her sixth game of the season with 30 or more points.

This steal from Watkins — one of two in the game — led to a layup from freshman Kayleigh Heckel to put the Trojans up 23-15 late in the opening quarter.

This triple from Watkins gave her 23 points in the first half and extended USC's lead to 46-32.

Combined, Watkins had 68 points in each of the two games against UCLA. The Trojans led wire-to-wire in the game on Saturday and by as much as 20, claiming their seventh straight win to end the regular season.

As UCLA (27-2, 16-2 Big Ten) appears to be losing steam as March gets underway, you could argue that USC (26-2, 17-1 Big Ten) has more momentum that any team in the country. 

The only downside in each of the two meetings with UCLA has been USC's fouls and disadvantage on the boards. While those two areas did not hinder it against UCLA, they could be costly in a closer game.

This could only be the beginning of a strong month of March for USC, especially if the momentum carries over from its late-season winning streak.