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In the quarterfinals of the 2025 Women's Big Ten Tournament, No. 1 seed USC got the best of No. 9 seed Indiana, 84-79.

The Hoosiers fought hard and kept it close—similar to the teams’ first meeting in Bloomington, which the Trojans also won, that time by seven points.

IU jumped out to a five-point lead in the opening minutes, but after that, USC started playing like the team that earned the regular-season Big Ten title. JuJu Watkins lived up to her Big Ten Player of the Year status, scoring a game-high 31 points, while teammate Kiki Iriafen also impressed with 21.

Yarden Garzon delivered another strong performance in Indianapolis—her second in as many days—leading IU with 23 points. Chloe Moore-McNeil added 17, Shay Ciezki put up 15, and Karoline Striplin scored 10, giving the Hoosiers four double-digit scorers.

When it was all said and done, though, USC held on and was the more impressive team down the stretch. The Trojans won the rebounding battle and shot 46.8% from the field compared to IU’s 39.7%.

With that in mind, here’s how Indiana’s second game in the Big Ten Tournament unfolded at Gainbridge Fieldhouse:

Similar to the two teams' first matchup in January, the first half was hard-fought and closely contested. The Hoosiers led early, but for most of the half, USC held a slight advantage.

That’s not to say neither team wasn't dominant at any point as, while neither team led by double digits at any point in the first or second quarters, both teams had stretches where they were clearly the stronger squad.

To start the game, Indiana scored seven of the first nine points, allowing the crowd to get into it early after a Garzon 3-pointer put the Hoosiers up five less than three minutes in.

USC responded quickly, scoring seven straight to take its first lead just a few possessions later. Indiana briefly regained the lead at 14-11 before the first-quarter media timeout, but the Trojans closed the quarter on a 12-4 run to take a 23-18 advantage.

USC shot 10-of-18 from the floor in an impressive offensive start, while Indiana shot 6-of-14 from the field and hit its only 3-point attempt of the quarter. Sydney Parrish led the Hoosiers with seven early points.

Holding a five-point lead entering the second quarter, USC turned up the pressure and extended its lead to nine with 8:21 left in the half. It looked as if the Trojans might take full control after opening the period with four straight points.

Indiana, however, responded with an 11-4 run to cut the deficit to two, making it a close game once again. The rest of the half remained tight, as USC maintained a slight edge but couldn’t pull away.

The Hoosiers shot 6-of-15 in the second quarter, while USC made just 4-of-14 field goals. However, the Trojans went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line—all by Watkins, making up for their poor performance from the floor.

With just a four-point game at halftime, this one had all the makings of another nail-biting finish between the Hoosiers and the Trojans.

With it being close throughout the first half, the second half was no different.

In the third quarter, the game remained extremely tight as both teams vied to pull away, but USC held a two-point lead when the buzzer sounded.

The Trojans scored the first two points of the period to extend their lead to four, but IU responded with eight straight points, giving the Hoosiers their first advantage since midway through the first quarter.

After Indiana flipped the script, the Trojans followed suit and reclaimed the lead, though the game remained back-and-forth for most of the quarter. That was until USC began to open up more of a lead, going up by seven with 2:37 left, and then again at the 1:35 mark in the third.

The Hoosiers had a strong response, though. Instead of entering the fourth down by seven or more, they scored five straight points to make it a one-possession game before the quarter expired.

IU shot 6-of-11 from the floor and 1-of-3 from 3-point range, while USC went 9-of-17 from the field and also made 1-of-3 attempts from beyond the arc.

With the game still extremely close, the fourth quarter would decide who moved on and who went home, as both teams battled until the end. It was USC that found clutch possessions down the stretch, holding on when it was all said and done.

Up by two at the start of the quarter, the Trojans maintained their lead throughout. IU cut it to two with 8:37 left, but USC responded by extending its advantage.

The lead grew to eight with five minutes remaining after a 9-3 run, but Ciezki knocked down a 3-pointer to cut it to five and keep the Trojans at bay. IU then added two points at the free-throw line to make it a three-point game, but USC answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to regain control.

After that, IU couldn't get within four, allowing USC to escape with the victory. Indiana shot 5-of-18 from the field, including a 2-of-8 stretch to close the game. USC finished 6-of-13 from the floor and struggled at the free-throw line, going 8-for-16, though IU’s missed shots down the stretch negated those struggles.

USC may not have dominated in the final minutes, but the Trojans did just enough to sneak out of the quarterfinals.

Both Yarden Garzon and JuJu Watkins were incredibly impressive throughout the game, each attempting to will their team to victory.

Watkins got things going early with eight first-quarter points, doing so on 4-of-6 shooting, as none of her early points came from 3-pointers or free throws. Garzon scored three in the first period on 1-of-2 shooting, her only made field goal coming from beyond the arc.

Watkins was the better player in the first 10 minutes, though Garzon started heating up in the second. She made 2-of-3 shots, all from 3-point range, as she began to find her rhythm.

Watkins still scored more, putting up eight points once again, but this time with a 6-of-6 mark from the free-throw line. She made just 1-of-5 field goals and missed her only 3-point attempt of the first half.

Watkins took 16 points into halftime and continued to impress in the second half, scoring eight more in the third quarter. She shot 3-for-3 from the field, all 2-pointers, and made 2-of-3 free throws. Similar to the first quarter, she was getting downhill and scoring when she made her move—though Garzon did the same in the third.

Garzon scored nine in the quarter, taking a page out of Watkins' book with six points coming from the free-throw line. She was 1-of-3 from the field and 1-of-2 from beyond the arc, though that 3-pointer came off a fantastic move and cut USC’s lead to two before the quarter ended.

In the fourth, these two continued to score, as Watkins added seven more while Garzon put up five in the final 10 minutes. Watkins made 2-of-5 shots from the field, while Garzon finished 2-of-7 in a bit of a tough ending, but she still closed with an impressive 23 points.

She made five total 3-pointers on 50% shooting from deep and kept IU in the game until the final minutes, delivering another Big Ten Tournament performance to remember.

Watkins’ 31 points were the highest total of any player so far in the Big Ten Tournament, as she scored effectively in the lane and got to the line at a tremendous rate. These two excellent players made for an exciting, hard-fought postseason battle.

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