Bloodied and bruised, JuJu Watkins leads USC past Arizona in Pac-12 tournament
LAS VEGAS — Bruised, bloodied but unbowed, JuJu Watkins had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead USC to a 65-62 win over Arizona in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Pac-12 freshman of the year fought through Arizona’s physical defense that left her with a welt over her left eyebrow and a bandage on her left arm. The target of every opposing team’s scouting report, Watkins was held to a season-low in scoring during conference play, but had no problem relying on her teammates. Junior Rayah Marshall scored 15 points and 15 rebounds for her third consecutive double-double. “Our team continues to impress me with finding ways to win,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “I think we’re at our best when we’re getting contributions everywhere. I think we ended up being toughest when toughness was needed.” USC, which will play UCLA in Friday’s semifinal at 7:30 p.m. PST, busted open a tight, four-point game with eight consecutive points to start the fourth quarter. Only one point during the decisive run came from Watkins. Graduate transfer McKenzie Forbes made two