The USC women's basketball team was defeated 74-61 by Notre Dame on Saturday. Notre Dame played well en route to the victory. They are now 5-0 overall, while USC fell to 4-1. So how did USC star JuJu Watkins play in the game?

JuJu Watkins' game against Notre Dame

Watkins scored 24 points in the defeat. She still managed to turn in a respectable scoring total, but Watkins was rather inefficient with her shot. She ultimately went 10-25 from the field and 0-5 from beyond the arc. Watkins is hoping to see an improvement in her shooting efficiency, as she is shooting 42 percent from the field and 21.7 percent on her three-point attempts this season.

Watkins was able to record six rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block on Saturday. Her ability to impact the game in multiple ways is important. Watkins is regarded as a women's college basketball star in part to her scoring, but her ability to help USC in different facets of the game stands out as well.

She is averaging 6.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 3.8 steals and 3.0 blocks per outing. JuJu Watkins has continued to take a step forward as both a playmaker and defender this year. Of course, her impact in the rebounding department as a guard is crucial as well.

One area of Watkins' game that must be addressed is her turnover struggles. Watkins turned the ball over five times on Saturday. She is averaging 3.5 turnovers per outing this season, a decrease from 2023-24 but still a fairly high mark.

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It must be remembered that Watkins commands no shortage of defensive attention. As a result, some turnovers are going to happen as defenses place their focus on trying to contain her.

The turnovers are not especially worrisome, but USC would obviously like to see Watkins take better care of the ball.

Final thoughts on Watkins' play in Notre Dame-USC game

JuJu Watkins features a high ceiling. She is already one of the best players in the sport. Watkins played well enough to help USC win on Saturday, but the team needs more all-around production from other players.

Saturday was not Watkins' best game, which is a compliment since most players would love to record the statistics that Watkins finished with against Notre Dame. It would not be surprising to see Watkins play at a more consistent level in USC's next matchup against Seton Hall on Wednesday.