An upset was not in the cards at Galen Center.

No. 1-seeded USC women’s basketball (27-5, 13-5 Pac-12) eased its way to a 87-55 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament over the No. 16-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (23-9, 14-4 Southland Conference).

The potent offensive duo of freshman guard JuJu Watkins and graduate guard McKenzie Forbes combined for 46 points, as they both managed 23 points. This marks the only time all season where Watkins has not led her team in scoring in back-to-back games this season.

From the opening tip — which USC won — the Trojans showed off their size to a game that quickly became a block party. The Islanders only ran out one 6-footer in their starting lineup, a recipe for disaster against a USC squad with four 6-footers in their starting five.

The Trojans amassed 10 blocks in the opening quarter courtesy of four different players, leading to a 21-4 lead for the home side after the first frame. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi — despite scoring the first and last buckets of the quarter — could not put the ball through the net, shooting a measly 9.1% from the field through the first 10 minutes.

The Islanders were smarter with their shot selection in the second frame, opting for the 3-ball instead of shots inside the paint, spreading USC’s defense around to make it easier in the offensive end. The Trojans could not manage a black in the frame and were not able to extend their lead, but still went into the half 36-20.

Both teams turned on the offensive jets in the third quarter: USC and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi combined to match the first-half point total in one quarter, and the Trojans knocked down five 3-pointers on an efficient 50.0% success rate. 

Forbes and graduate guard Kayla Padilla seemed to be competing with each other in the period, as one would knock one down and the other would quickly answer with a triple of their own.

Carrying a 30-point lead into the final frame, the only question was whether the Trojans would cover ESPN’s 33.5-point spread. With Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb mixing and matching bench players and starters on the court — Forbes played less than four minutes in the final frame — USC let bettors down as it won the game by 32 points.

The blowout win gave graduate guard India Otto the opportunity to check into the final minutes of the game and score two buckets to the roaring delight of the Galen Center crowd, a special moment for a player who predates Gottlieb at USC.

The Trojans get to rest for a day before they take on the Kansas Jayhawks (20-12, 11-7 Big 12) at Galen Center on Monday. The game’s tipoff time has not been announced at the time of publication.