Freshman guard Kayleigh Heckel swiped a steal and flung a pass far up the floor to sophomore guard JuJu Watkins with 4:45 left in the first quarter. After scoring the Trojans’ last 8 points, Watkins turned toward the hoop and confidently launched a “heat check,” deep triple from the left wing. It was way off, accelerating awkwardly from the rim along the baseline.

Watkins offered the crowd an unconcerned apology before she turned to the bench, laughing and patting her chest.

At that moment, one thing was clear: After a rough couple of weeks, Watkins had her smile back. 

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Watkins’ historic night shot down No. 1 UCLA’s (23-1, 11-1 Big Ten) hopes for an undefeated season as her 38 total points, six triples, 11 boards and 8 blocks put No. 6 USC (22-2, 12-1) atop the Bruins 71-60 at Galen Center. In the last 20 seasons across all of Division I, Watkins is the first player with at least 35 points, 5 blocks and 5 assists in a game.

“I didn’t teach JuJu to do any of that,” said Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb in a postgame press conference.

Before being bested by Watkins’ wizardry, the Bruins’ unblemished record was welcomed by the unnerving anticipation of USC’s sold-out and star-studded crowd. 

With A-listers scattered throughout the courtside seats, Watkins made it clear she was most excited by the presence of Sanaa Lathan, who played Monica Wright, a basketball icon at USC, in the classic romantic comedy “Love & Basketball” (2000). 

“When you have people like that show up, you can’t disappoint,” Watkins said. “Shout out Monica.”

The Bruins, the top team in the country, had proven themselves with wins over the defending NCAA champions, No. 4 South Carolina (23-2, 11-1 SEC), No. 17 Maryland (19-6, 9-5 Big Ten) and No. 9 Ohio State (21-3, 10-3 Big Ten), but their invincibility was threatened just moments after tipoff.

With starting senior center Rayah Marshall struggling to contain UCLA superstar junior center Lauren Betts early, Gottlieb called up senior center Clarice Akunwafo to take on the Betts assignment — and Akunwafo, standing tall at 6 feet 6 inches, came up huge for the Trojans. 

“No one in our locker room was surprised at the performance that [Akunwafo] put on,” Gottlieb said. “My husband just sent me a post that said, ‘Akunwafo will be remembered.’”

At one point in the second quarter, Watkins had single-handedly outscored UCLA, but then, the Trojans got quiet. Over three minutes, USC shot 0-8 from the field, allowing UCLA’s 10-0 scoring run to briefly tie the game at 35 apiece near halftime.

After intermission, Betts took control of the paint, scoring the first 7 points of the second half. Betts finished the game with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

“Betts is just an anomaly,” Watkins said.

As the Bruins got into a groove, Watkins’ offensive production slowed, and with 5:58 minutes left in the game, no Trojan besides Watkins had scored more than 5 points.

But after Betts’ personal 7-0 run, with 7:14 left in the third quarter, Gottlieb called timeout and made a key adjustment. From that point forward, the Trojans sent aggressive help at Betts every time she received the ball in the post, and the junior center scored just 2 points for the rest of the contest. 

The guard who came over to help Akunwafo with Betts most frequently: Watkins had 5 blocks in the final 10:12 of the game, the Galen crowd exploding with each one. 

“[Watkins] did come up to me and was like, ‘She’s gonna score, she’s a great player, but I got your back,’” Akunwafo said. “And she did have my back after that, so I appreciate [her].”

In one of the game’s most crucial moments, freshman guard Avery Howell stepped it up with a quick release 3-pointer, giving USC a 58-56 lead with 4:25 remaining, the Trojans’ first lead since the big Bruin run to start the half. 

Just 16 seconds after Howell’s triple, Akunwafo checked back in for the freshman and with that extra force, UCLA struggled to find its spots. By the end of the game, the Trojans tallied up 20 forced turnovers to turn on their transition game, with freshman guard Kennedy Smith’s energy on defense particularly palpable down the stretch. 

“[Smith] rattles the other players so much, where their minds are scrambled,” Watkins said.

Howell’s dagger ultimately ignited USC’s game-winning 17-2 scoring run, securing its first victory over a No. 1 ranked opponent since 1983.

“We’ve had two losses that we didn’t feel good about, and we wanted that to be a catalyst for us against [UCLA, who] hadn’t had that feeling yet,” Gottlieb said. “Now they’re going to have it too.”

This is the first of two meetings between USC and UCLA this season. The Trojans will head to Pauley Pavilion in March, where they intend to sweep the Bruins in a game that will likely decide the regular season title. Before then, USC will first head up the coast to take on Washington (14-11, 5-8 Big Ten) Sunday.