For about eight minutes, it was the game no one expected.

After that, it was the game everyone expected.

Purdue (7-12, 0-8 Big Ten) put up an early fight against No. 4 USC (18-2, 8-0) before JuJu Watkins and crew locked up their 13th-straight win against a Boilers team that hasn't won since December. A massive USC second quarter and points off turnovers led to a 79-37 Purdue defeat in Mackey Arena.

Watkins, a National Player of the Year frontrunner, scored 16 points with seven rebounds, but looked human – she shot 40% from the floor, scoring under 20 for just the ninth time in her two-year career. Instead, an unlikely hero stepped up for the Trojans in freshman guard Avery Howell.

Howell scored 18 points, sinking four 3s as Purdue's zone honed in on stopping Watkins and imposing forward Kiki Iriafen inside.

Purdue ended the first quarter with a lead. Fifth-year guard Destini Lombard dribbled through space afforded by USC's full-court defensive press, nailing three of her first four shots. At its zenith, the Purdue lead was 14-5, prompting noise from a home crowd about two-thirds full of students hoping for a golden ticket to Purdue's men's student section next year through a women's basketball attendance lottery.

USC ended the quarter losing 16-15 after a frantic final possession that saw the Boilers foul twice and substitute repeatedly to defend the Trojan's inbound pass and an eventual alley-oop attempt that went everywhere on the rim but in.

After the Trojans had regained their momentum, they floored the pedal, and Purdue appeared out of gas from its early spurt. The Boilers lost the second quarter 31-2, often finding penetration impossible against the Trojan defensive front. As late shot-clock attempts mounted, so did awkward misses and turnovers for the Boilermakers.

Purdue siphoned production from freshman center Kendall Puryear off the bench, who nailed back-to-back jumpers in the third quarter in her distinct, set-and-hoist style. Puryear finished as the only Boilermaker in double figures, with 10 points. Lombard was second on the team with 8, but scored none after the first quarter. Starting forward McKenna Layden corralled seven rebounds for the team lead, but was held scoreless.

The Boilers played a plethora of lineups, featuring freshman guard Jordyn Poole more as the game wore on. Poole scored her team's only points of the second quarter with a confident turnaround jumper less than two minutes before halftime.

The Boilers began the game committing few turnovers, a focus in recent weeks as they've fallen to second-to-last in the Big Ten in the category. But the giveaways came late in the first quarter and increased after: Purdue committed six in the first quarter, seven in the second and eight in the third before keeping the number down to two in a non-competitive fourth.

Purdue will play its next game on the road Monday against Illinois.