Juju Watkins made a valiant effort to keep USC basketball afloat in March Madness. Unfortunately, UConn's experienced squad led by Paige Bueckers and Coach Geno Auriemma edged them out with a 73 to 80 scoreline. The Trojans star poured every single part of her heart out in this Elite Eight matchup, so much so that her emotions overflowed after the loss.
Juju Watkins was crying in the postgame handshake line. Thankfully, Paige Bueckers consoled her and gave her a short message before heading into the locker room, via Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times. The UConn star has been in this situation before, getting so near to the national title but falling short. Eventually, the USC super freshman calmed down and found her way back to their locker room.
The USC basketball offense basically ran through Juju Watkins. Most of their possessions saw her get touches and she took the opportunity when it came. Unfortunately, she only sank nine out of her 25 field goal attempts. Watkins did make up for it in the free throw line because she went a perfect nine for nine. All of this added up to 29 points which was a game-high.
Not to mention, Watkins was also battling for rebounds. She sacrificed her body to get into good positions to snag boards which gave her a double-double with 10 rebounds. Moreover, flashes of being a potential playmaker were also on display as she managed to drop two assists.
Overall, USC just suffered from a lot of inefficiency brought about by Coach Geno Auriemma's schemes on defense. UConn managed to only score on 32.9% of their field goal attempts. Only knocking down 31% of their shots from way out while the Paige Bueckers-led squad got 46.7% from three was also a big concern. Lastly, their assist-to-turnover ratio was also bothersome. For every dime dropped, they also lost the ball.
USC: magnanimous in defeat
USC obviously thought that they could have gone all the way to win March Madness and take home the national title. But, it was just not fate this year. Thankfully, they still have a few years left of Watkins such that they can contend. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb can surround her with better personnel and also create schemes that are tailor-fitted to her style of play. For now, it looks like Watkins is content with what they achieved despite the heartbreak, via Luca Evans of O.C. Register.
“Like Lindsay said, it’s been a great ride. I have the best teammates in the world, and I'm just glad, um, that,” she declared.
Watkins ended the season while being second in scoring in all of women's college basketball. She averaged 27 points while shooting at a 40.2% clip from all three levels of scoring. The USC basketball star also managed to notch 7.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists on a nightly basis. It was just unfortunate that they had to face a tough UConn squad who already knew the path to the national championship.
There will be more chances for Watkins and USC if she chooses to stay. Hopefully, she ends her collegiate career with a national title.
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