JuJu Watkins continues strong start as No. 8 USC beats Penn State
True freshman JuJu Watkins is five games into her USC career and she’s already putting herself in the same sentence as one of the all-time Trojan greats. With 31 points in No. 8 USC’s 71-70 win over Penn State in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship, Watkins made USC history, tying Lisa Leslie with three 30-point games as a freshman for the Trojans, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
USC needed every one of those 31 points from Watkins in this one, and the true freshman delivered when the Trojans needed it most. Down 70-64 with 2:15 remaining in the game, Watkins scored the final seven points of the contest on two layups and a three-pointer.
The game-winner, coming with 31.4 seconds on the clock, saw Watkins bring the ball up the court, drive into the lane, step through two defenders and hit a close-range floater. The Nittany Lions got a shot off with two seconds left but couldn’t get it to go.
Watkins had eight points in the first quarter and finished the first half with 13, thanks to a half-court buzzer-beater before halftime. Watkins not only finished with a game-high 31 points. She also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
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Watkins came to USC as the nation’s No. 1 recruit in her class and has more than lived up to the hype. She’s scored at least 15 points in all five games, including performances of 31, 32 and 35 points. She’s shooting 45% from the floor, 50% from three and 78.6% from the line. And she’s led the Trojans to wins over then-No. 7 Ohio State and what had been a 5-0 Penn State team heading into Wednesday night.
USC played this one without forward Kaitlyn Davis, who is day-to-day with an injury. Trojans’ forward Rayah Marshall collected her usual double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Kayla Padilla had nine points while playing all 40 minutes. She hit 3-of-4 from beyond the arc as USC connected on nine-of-18 three-point attempts as a team.
Penn State was led by guard Shay Ciezki, who had 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
The Trojans return home for their next game against Cal Poly on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 7:00 pm at the Galen Center. USC finishes its nonconference schedule with a host of in-state matchups against San Diego, UC Riverside, Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State before jumping into what will be a grueling Pac-12 schedule with games against No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Colorado, No. 4 Stanford, No. 10 Utah and No. 23 Washington State, among the rest of the conference programs.
