LIVE BLOG: Follow Along As Indiana Takes On No. 2 USC In The Big Ten Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS - Welcome to Gainbridge Fieldhouse! Indiana's women's basketball team continues its Big Ten Tournament adventure as it takes on second-ranked Southern California - the Big Ten regular season champions.

Indiana played USC close back in January before falling by seven points. This game is very similar in that it's a noon game. We'll see how the West Coast team handles playing at 9 a.m. by their body clock. Trojans seemed to handle it just fine through the season.

Indiana played pretty well in its victory over Oregon on Thursday, but this will obviously take a supreme effort.

• Starters: Indiana (road team): Shay Ciezki, Yarden Garzon, Chloe Moore-McNeil, Karoline Striplin, Sydney Parrish.
USC: JuJu Watkins, Kennedy Smith, Avery Howell, Talia van Oelhoffen, Kiki Iriafen.

• It's a larger crowd than Thursday's lunch time showing, but JuJu Watkins mania isn't at the Caitlin Clark level yet. Last year in Minneapolis, the Clark sessions were sold out. Several non-Clark sessions also had large turnouts. Give it time. Watkins is still just a sophomore.

• I think this will be a tight game for most of its running. Indiana will likely want it that way and USC is going to need time to get back into a rhythm.

• Had a friend joke with me that Indiana was doing very well in the "Pac-12 Tournament". A lot of truth in that. The weirdness factor of the West Coast schools has largely worn off for me, but you forget that we're still in firsts mode when it comes to the Big Ten newbies.

• Here's how to watch the game if you haven't tuned in.

• Indiana is back to wearing its red jerseys today. I could be making this up in my head, but I thought the Big Ten frowned on alternate uniforms at the conference tournament. Anyway, a shame not to see the black unis again because they're so sharp.

• It's tipoff time. Let's do this.

• Indiana 7-2, 7:21 1Q. Good defensive start for the Hoosiers. Karoline Striplin drew a charge and Indiana's pressure is forcing the Trojans - JuJu Watkins included - into unforced errors. To the surprise of no one, Chloe Moore-McNeil has the defensive assignment on Watkins.

• Indiana 14-11, 3:36 1Q. Hoosiers doing some interesting things. On its most recent trip, they overloaded the left side of the floor and isolated Lilly Meister on the right side. As USC's defense collapsed, Chloe Moore-McNeil found Meister all alone for a layup. When Indiana does those kinds of things, they've done. If they get into half-court offense? Not as much because of USC's size. Sydney Parrish does have seven early points. USC started rough, but has created better shots on subsequent possessions. Of note? Watkins already has two turnovers.

Lilly Meister's hustle pays off 🙌#B1GWBBT on @BigTenNetwork 📺 pic.twitter.com/HagYb3YnLL
— Big Ten Women's Basketball (@B1Gwbball) March 7, 2025

• USC 23-18, End 1Q. Trojans got their offense going with a vengeance. USC has made its last six shots, all of them on two-point jumpers or layups. JuJu Watkins closed out hot with eight points. USC is also making it hard on Indiana's offense. Hoosiers are 4-for-9 on shots scored as layups. Most of those misses have been altered shots at the rim ... or shots Indiana players anticipated would be altered.

• One good thing about Big Ten expansion? You hear some more really cool fight songs. First time I've heard the USC fight song in person. Classic. Still miss the Illinois War Chant, which sounded awesome in any arena, but I understand why it's gone.

• Nearly all of USC's players have excellent footwork in the post. They can exploit angles most teams can't.

• USC 29-21, 6:13 2Q. Too many unforced errors for the Hoosiers. Turnover total isn't out of control (six), but they've come at bad times. Plenty of chances at the rim have gone begging too. USC had a stretch of eight straight makes, but have missed their last four shots.

• USC 29-23, 4:43 2Q. Despite some of its issues, Indiana is hanging around. Frankly, it's a victory for Indiana that it's just a six-point game with the Hoosiers having made only 2 of 9 from the field in the 2Q. Indiana's defense has certainly helped that cause. The Trojans are just 2 of 7 in the second quarter. USC has missed its last five shots, Indiana has missed its last three.

• USC 31-29, 2:47 2Q. Indiana fans in the house getting more engaged as Indiana has converted three straight buckets to make it close again. Shay Ciezki with the latest make.

• Halftime: USC 38, Indiana 34. Solid half for the Hoosiers. JuJu Watkins has 16 points and Kiki Iriafen has 8 points, but no one else has broken out for the Trojans. Yarden Garzon has 9 points, all of one 3-pointers, including one corner 3 that got some very friendly english off the top portion of the glass. Neither team has missed a free throw.

• 40-40, 8:30 3Q. Good start for the Hoosiers. Shay Ciezki with a block and strip and it led to a pair of Chloe Moore-McNeil free throws to tie it up. Ciezki with four points to start the half too.

• Indiana 44-42, 5:53 3Q. Both teams have been hunting for a third scorer. Indiana found theirs. Shay Ciezki has eight points in the third quarter, including a mid-range jumper that put the Hoosiers in front for the second time in the period.

• Indiana 44-43, 5:53 3Q. Game stopped as Lilly Meister is injured. She's being helped off the floor by Indiana's athletic trainers.

• USC 48-46, 4:50 3Q. Lilly Meister's injury cast a pall over the Hoosiers. Accidental thing. Kiki Iriafen stepped on her left foot on a free throw blockout. Iriafen caught Meister foot high, could be a high ankle situation. Very painful for Meister. Trojans are back in front on the strength of a Talia van Oelhoffen 3-pointer.

• USC 53-48, 2:38 3Q. Assistant coach Rhet Wierzba just checked on Lilly Meister on the Indiana bench. Obviously don't know what answer she gave, but we'll find out when Karoline Striplin needs a rest.

• USC 59-52, 1:13 3Q. Lilly Meister returns. Good news for the Hoosiers, but the bad news is that the Trojans have made seven of their last nine shots, including their last four. USC is really good at creating a gap with mini-bursts inside games.

• End 3Q: USC 59, Indiana 57. Hoosiers closed the quarter with five straight, all from Yarden Garzon, who made a couple of free throws and then drilled a 3-pointer. Meister took an armful of Kiki Iriafen after Garzon's 3-pointer, which gave Indiana a possession to tie the game, but Sydney Parrish air-mailed a 3-point attempt. Sit tight. Good one here in Indy.

Yarden Garzon makes it a one-possession game heading into the 4th 👀 @IndianaWBB #B1GWBBT on BTN 📺 pic.twitter.com/brCZXzSlci
— Big Ten Women's Basketball (@B1Gwbball) March 7, 2025

• USC 64-60, 7:39 4Q. JuJu Watkins a little bit slow to get up after she missed a layup in the lane. Not injured, but might be winded.

• USC 71-63, 4:54 4Q. Sydney Parrish fouls out. Indiana's issue is that it hits some momentum-making shots, but then the Trojans have had an immediate response. Offense has dried up with three straight misses and a turnover.

• USC 71-66, 4:17 4Q. Shay Ciezki breaks Indiana out of its drought with a much-needed 3-pointer. USC has had a balanced attack in the fourth quarter. JuJu Watkins, Kiki Iriafen, Kennedy Smith and Avery Howell all have buckets. Hoosiers need to mix some stops with some buckets. Free throw shooting in this game has been elite. Indiana is 18 of 19. USC is 13 of 15.

• USC 71-66, 3:38/3:30 4Q. Lilly Meister to the line after the media timeout. Game has been remarkably even for nearly all of its running. The only major statistical disparity is 3-point percentage and that's in Indiana's favor. Hoosiers are 43% to USC's 22%. Review for a clock adjustment. Eight seconds are taken off the clock.

• USC 77-70, 2:01 4Q. Time running out for Indiana. Just can't get stops. It's not for lack of trying. Lexus Bargesser was wearing JuJu Watkins on one USC possession, but Watkins created just enough space for herself to get off a 3-pointer that she drained. That's what Big Ten Players Of The Year tend to do. Watkins has 30 points and 10 rebounds. Kiki Iriafen is a rebound away from a double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds.

• USC 78-73, :54.1 4Q. Kiki Iriafen fouls out as Indiana is making it interesting. Karoline Striplin flew in for an offensive rebound and got fouled in the bargain. She shoots two and makes one. One interesting statistical tidbit. Shay Ciezki has three blocked shots. She's had five in the Big Ten Tournament. She had nine career blocks entering the Tournament.

• USC 79-73, :49.1 4Q. On an inbounds pass, Lexus Bargesser's pass to Yarden Garzon late in the five-second count was tipped away by Kennedy Smith who was sent to the line on a (questionable) transition foul on Bargesser. It could have been a dagger for the Trojans, but Smith missed both free throws. Hoosiers still in this with a shout.

• USC 81-73, :39.6 4Q. Dagger may have just happened. Yarden Garzon missed a 3-pointer with the margin still at six. Malia Samuels was fouled and did make her pair of free throws. If something is going to happen for the Hoosiers, it needs to happen rapidly.

• USC 81-76, :23.4 4Q. Trojans miss two more free throws and Karoline Striplin drains a 3-pointer. Still a chance for the Hoosiers if they can create some breaks.

• USC 82-76, :09.6 4Q. Too late now for the Hoosiers as Chloe Moore-McNeil misses a 3-pointer and Avery Howell rebounds for the Trojans. USC pep band regaling Gainbridge FIeldhouse with the "We Are S-C" chant.

• FINAL: USC 84, Indiana 79. Helluva effort from the Hoosiers, but they just couldn't creep over the top while chasing the game in the second half. Indiana did enough here in Indy (and got help from other Big Ten bubble teams) to most likely be in decent shape to make the NCAA Tournament. Long wait until Selection Day to find out where Indiana will be headed.

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