Kiki Iriafen is enjoying a great season with No. 4 USC women's basketball after transferring from Stanford. The Trojan forward is averaging 18.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game on 52.2 percent shooting this season.
Iriafen posted 28 points for USC, helping the Trojans to a 95-73 win over visiting Penn State at the Galen Center on Sunday night. Following the game, the 6-foot-3 forward posted a photo of the total scores on her Instagram story to celebrate USC's 12th straight win. She captioned the post:
"Dubs!!"
Kiki Iriafen and JuJu Watkins lead USC to a 95-73 victory over Penn State
USC women's basketball stars, Kiki Iriafen and JuJu Watkins combined for 63 points to lead the Trojans to a comfortable 95-73 victory over Penn State. Watkins finished the game with 38 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and three blocks. Iriafen contributed 28 points, four rebounds and four assists to lead the Trojans to their 12th straight win this season.
Watkins shot a career-high 13 of 15 from the floor, with eight of her shots from the first half and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line. The sophomore guard was especially phenomenal in the second half, opening the period with a steal and finish for the Trojans. She also scored all of USC's points, getting the home side ahead 64-41 as she crossed the 30-point threshold.
Kiki Iriafen was next in the scoring, making it 66-41 for the Trojans with 4:15 on the clock. It is now Iriafen's sixth game as a Trojan scoring 20+ points. Both Watkins and Iriafen have now scored in double digits in all 17 USC games this season, with the sophomore guard scoring 30 or more points in 18 of her 51 career games. Watkins now ranks third (18 30-point games) on USC's all-time list, trailing only Cheryl Miller (25) and Cherie Nelson (20).
USC shot 58.3 percent from the floor through the first 20 minutes of the game, making it the fourth time the Trojans shot 50 percent or better from the floor. They also forced the Lady Lions into making 21 turnovers, the 10th game in which USC's opponent committed 20 or more turnovers this season.
On a 12-game winning streak, USC has recorded win streaks of 10 or more straight games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons.
Up next, the Trojans visit Indiana on Sunday to open a Midwest trip.
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