SPORT NEWS: JuJu Watkins Shines Bright in Electrifying USC Season Opener .giang

USC guard JuJu Watkins helped the Trojans avoid an opening-day scare against Ole Miss after scoring 27 points in a 68-66 win over the Rebels.

The 19-year-old proved her toughness after suffering a bloody nose toward the end of the game to ensure that No. 3 USC made a winning start. Ole Miss was leading 64-60 with under three minutes remaining, but Watkins and the Trojans battled back to avoid an upset.

Watkins also had 10 rebounds and four assists during the game, playing all 40 minutes. The former five-star recruit is entering her sophomore season after a historic freshman year and remains a favorite to win the national player of the year award.

ESPN caused some controversy when releasing its women’s college basketball rankings before the start of the 2024-25 season, as Watkins was listed first ahead of UConn’s Paige Bueckers. However, Watkins made a clear statement in the opening game and is keen to bring a “winning legacy” to USC.

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“When I decided to commit, it was to kind of bring that winning legacy back and that excitement around USC women’s basketball and LA basketball in general,” Watkins said ahead of the season. “It’s just been really, really exciting to see it all come together.”

Last year, the Trojans reached the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since the 1993-94 season before losing to Bueckers and the Huskies. But despite this, following a record year, Watkins has been listed as No. 1 and picked up where she left off after averaging 27.1 points in her freshman year.

Watkins set an NCAA record in her first season, ending the year as the nation’s highest-scoring freshman in history with 920 points. The USC guard also had 14 games with 30 or more points scored, beating Caitlin Clark’s previous national record of 12 as a freshman.

The sky is the limit for Watkins, and former NCAA champion and WNBA All-Star Rebecca Lobo believes that she will be one the faces of women’s college basketball this year despite being a freshman. “She’s certainly going to be one of the prominent faces of the women’s college game this year, “Lobo said.

“There’s a lot to be excited about in women’s college basketball, and I think certainly JuJu is one of the players that people are really eager to see.” Watkins has performed at such a consistent level for USC since committing to the college that head coach Lindsay Gottlieb has become numb to her talents.

“Nothing she does surprises me anymore,” Gottlieb said. “JuJu makes it easy because she puts this team, she puts basketball, she puts me, she puts USC above anything individual for her, she really does. She’s a 19-year-old who’s just focused on winning and focused on helping me and this team build towards excellence.”