COLLEGE PARK, Md. — JuJu Watkins and Southern California figured to do a lot of traveling in the Trojans’ first season in the Big Ten.

So far, so good.

No. 4 USC completed a two-game eastern sweep Wednesday night, handing No. 8 Maryland its first loss, 79-74. The victory came after the Trojans decimated Rutgers 92-42 on Sunday.

“We’ve been on the East Coast now for like four days,” Watkins said. “It’s freezing.”

Perhaps that explained Watkins’ spotty shooting. She went 7 for 19 from the field and turned the ball over eight times, eventually fouling out in the final minute. She scored 21 points, her lowest output in nearly a month.

But USC outscored Maryland 18-6 to end the game. Kiki Iriafen also scored 21.

“We just kind of have this unwavering confidence in ourselves,” Watkins said. “It was just a matter of coming together and closing the game out.”

The Trojans have already logged quite a few miles. They beat Mississippi in Paris in November. Last month they traveled to Connecticut and beat UConn.

This trip was a multigame journey that USC handled pretty well. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb said she’s still learning the rhythm of a new league.

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“The Pac-12 was two games in a weekend, Friday-Sunday and everyone’s doing the same thing. Now we’re like, ‘Wait, who’s playing who when?’” she said. “It’s really different for us, and so as coaches we’re trying to process all that and keep things as normalized for the team as possible.”

It’s also an opportunity for USC to play in areas less familiar with the Trojans. It was their first matchup with Maryland since 1995, and the game drew 14,735.

“It’s just platforms for them that we have never had before, and that’s a really positive thing. It’s up to us and my administration and me to make it as seamless as possible for them,” Gottlieb said. “We’ll go anywhere and play. I think our players have proven that.”

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has warned that massive budget cuts are on the way as state lawmakers try to solve a $3 billion budget gap. 

Moore told Maryland residents Wednesday to brace themselves for $2 billion worth of cuts in his soon-to-be-released budget. But that still leaves another $1 billion that lawmakers will have to come up with to close this deficit.

Normally, the first day of a General Assembly session is a cause for celebration but this year it comes with a big challenge. 

Moore said that not only does he want lawmakers to come up with a solution to close the budget gap, he also wants still fund priorities like economic growth, public safety and schools but Moore would not endorse the idea of tax hikes.

“We are not going to grow an economy on the backs of working Marylanders, on the backs of middle-class Marylanders. So I’ll work with anybody to be able to come up with a long-term solution but my bar’s high, been high and will remain high when it comes to revenues,” Moore said. 

But while the governor says his bar is high for tax hikes, Democrats, who control both houses of the statehouse, and Republicans, who are outnumbered, are already fighting it out. 

Republicans say they support the governor’s plan to cut spending but they will hold the line on taxes. 

“I believe the Democrats are sending every signal that they are going to raise taxes and we are going to fight it, fight it, fight it,” said Republican delegate Kathy Szeliga, who represents Howard County. “Maryland is already one of the most highly taxed states in the country.”

Democratic lawmakers say no decisions have been made either way.

“You know, people get nervous because they think that automatically means raising taxes. Not necessarily. We’re going to do our job and make sure that we don’t hurt people too, we understand the budget is tight but we don’t have to keep hurting people too,” Democratic delegate C.T. Wilson, the Maryland Economic Matters Chairman.

 Moore is set to unveil his budget proposal on Wednesday, Jan. 15. This General Assembly session will last for 90 days.