Despite losing star freshman guard JuJu Watkins in the fourth quarter, No. 7 USC women’s basketball found a way to pull out a 95-93 win at Arizona in double overtime on Thursday.

The Trojans defeated the Wildcats 81-64 in their last matchup on February 12, but both teams have been at the top of their games since then. Coming into Thursday’s game, Arizona was on a four-game winning streak — including a win over then-No. 3 Stanford — and USC maintained its top-10 spot in the national rankings, even with a loss to Utah on February 25.

The first quarter started slow, with Arizona eventually grinding out an early 11-7 lead. USC graduate guard Kayla Padilla picked up her second foul about halfway through the quarter, rattling the Trojan lineup.

But strong interior play from junior center Rayah Marshall kept USC in the game; Marshall led the team with seven points in the first quarter. Watkins and senior guard Kayla Williams also contributed crucial buckets as the Trojans fell into a rhythm, hitting four straight shots to end the quarter up 16-14 on the Wildcats.

The two teams continued to struggle on offense through the second, and shots didn’t come easy for the Trojans, especially for Watkins. Behind Arizona’s pressure, Watkins shot only 1-for-5 in the period. Marshall put in some impressive defensive work on the block, but she similarly struggled to generate offense.

The offensive support of graduate forward Kaitlyn Davis was the Trojans’ saving grace in the second quarter, as the Wildcats only led 33-31 at the break. Freshman guard Skylar Jones and redshirt junior forward Isis Beh led the charge for Arizona with a combined 19 points in the first half.

Strong post play from Marshall kept USC in the game early in the third quarter, but the Wildcats remained unfazed and seemed to always have an answer for the Trojan offense.

Then, halfway through the third, a switch clicked. Both offenses picked up and shots started to fall. A layup from Jones tied her then-career high of 13 points and put Arizona up 47-41 with over two minutes left in the period. The teams traded threes, and a three-point play gave Arizona an eight-point lead with 1:45 to go in the third.

Watkins still wasn’t looking like herself offensively at this point, but she managed eight points for the quarter. The bigger story for the Trojan star was foul trouble; she picked up her fourth foul with 12 seconds remaining in the third quarter and didn’t return until just under seven minutes to go in the fourth.

Arizona took advantage of Watkins’ absence and mounted an offensive barrage that would give the Wildcats their largest lead of the night, 58-48. The teams traded buckets as the minutes slipped by, and Trojans were losing their chance to sweep the Wildcats this season. But Marshall and Watkins wouldn’t go away, and USC brought the game back within five with just under four minutes to play.

But just when USC’s offense seemed to finally come together, Watkins was called for her fifth foul with 1:41 remaining. Watkins finished with 20 points on 7-for-19 shooting and added eight rebounds. She averages 28.2 points per game for USC, No. 2 in the nation.

Despite losing Watkins in clutch time, the Trojans rallied back. USC kept fouling to stay alive, and, although the Wildcats were perfect from the line in the fourth, Davis had answers. She scored on three consecutive possessions for the Trojans to bring them back within three down 71-68. Graduate forward McKenzie Forbes assisted on all three shots.

Davis drew a foul on Beh on her last bucket in regulation and went to the line with 16 seconds to go. She rebounded her own miss and found Padilla outside for an open three. Padilla didn’t connect, but Davis rebounded that miss and found the sharpshooter again; Padilla sank that second-chance triple with seven seconds left to tie the game at 71 and send the teams into overtime.

“She’s selfless in an unbelievable way, but doesn’t lack confidence at all,” head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said about Padilla. “To be able to play her role, and not hunt shots all the time, but hit the big ones when we need it, says a lot about her.”

Forbes and Davis helped to lead the charge in overtime for the Trojans, who couldn’t shake the Wildcats. The teams recorded seven lead changes through the period. Freshman guard Jada Williams took over in overtime for Arizona, and USC missed a few key free throws that stopped it from putting the Wildcats away.

Marshall made two clutch free throws with 25 seconds left to put USC up 85-83, but she was almost immediately called for the foul on Williams on the other end. The Trojans were unable to counter and headed to double overtime tied at 85.

The second overtime was more of the same, with both teams battling for the lead as more and more players fouled out of the game. Padilla, who shot 5-for-7 from 3-point land for the game, dropped another clutch shot to start creating distance.

Marshall’s strong post presence and timely free throws from Forbes kept the Trojans ahead, as Arizona went scoreless for over 2:30. The game came down to the wire, but USC ultimately pulled out the 95-93 win after Williams’ last-second heave hit back iron.

This is only the second time this season that Watkins, who is leading the Pac-12 in scoring, has been outscored by a teammate. Against Arizona, it was Marshall who led the Trojans to victory with 26 points and 11 rebounds. It was her ninth double-double of the year.

But, it was a team effort through and through: Davis contributed 16 points, nine rebounds and four steals, while Padilla added 15 points. Forbes finished with nine points and five assists, several of which came in key moments for the Trojans.

“It’s a character win, and I do think it’s defining,” Gottlieb said. “We’re trying to be an elite, elite team nationally. We know that that’s about more than just one or two players.”

It was a pivotal victory for USC, who will compete in the Pac-12 tournament from March 6-10 in Las Vegas. All five of the team’s losses this season have come at the hands of conference rivals, but the Trojans have won eight of their last nine games.

USC travels to Tempe to take on Arizona State on Saturday at 11 a.m to wrap up the regular season.