JuJu Watkins sets USC scoring record as Trojans beat No. 4 Stanford
Jumping into the discussion of the greatest USC women’s basketball player of all time automatically puts you in the discussion of the greatest women’s basketball player of all time, period. True freshman JuJu Watkins might not be up there with Cheryl Miller and Lisa Leslie just yet, but Watkins is again being mentioned among those icons after an unbelievable performance on Friday night.
Watkins set the all-time USC single-game scoring record, going for 51 points in a 67-58 win for the No. 15 USC Trojans against the No. 4 Stanford Cardinal. This was just Stanford’s third loss of the season and first home loss this year.
USC’s previous single-game scoring record was 50, set by Cherie Nelson against California on March 11, 1989. The previous single-game scoring record for a true freshman belonged to Miller, with 39 points. Watkins topped Miller with 40 in just three quarters. Against a very good Stanford team coming off a streak of 11 wins in its last 12 games, Watkins did it all. She hit 6-of-11 from three, made 17-of-19 free throws, shot 53.8% from the floor, grabbed 11 rebounds, recorded four steals and had two assists.
Just one other USC player scored in double figured. Just two more beyond that scored at all.
She scored 12 points in the first quarter and 13 in the second to help the Trojans go into the halftime locker room tied at 31. As if 25 points in the first half wasn’t enough, the third quarter was when things really got going. Watkins scored USC’s first 12 points of the period and had 15 overall.
Stanford cut USC’s lead to 58-56 with just 2:18 remaining in the game. A key McKenzie Forbes jumper kept the Trojans out front. Watkins then finished things off with seven free throws to ice things for USC.
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This is a much-needed win for the Trojans, who had hit a bit of a slide after beating No. 2 UCLA at home back on Jan. 14. USC was up to No. 6 in the country but then got swept on a road trip by No. 20 Utah and No. 3 Colorado and lost their third game in four outings when they dropped a home game against Washington this past Sunday.
The 51 points for Watkins are the most scored by a women’s Division I player this season. Previously, she surpassed Leslie’s USC record for 30-point games by a true freshman. Leslie did it three times. Watkins now has seven 30-point games this season.
And just to add to how incredible the performance was, some statistics courtesy of ESPN Stats & Info.
The 51 points are the second-most in Pac-12 history.
51 points is the most against a top-5 team over the last 25 years.
Watkins was responsible for 76% of USC’s points, the highest percent in the last 25 years.
And Watkins is just the second freshman in the last 25 seasons with a 50-point game, joining Elena Delle Donne.
Relive the whole thing:
