USC women's basketball continues its March Madness run. On Monday, the Trojans booked themselves a Sweet 16 ticket by defeating Kansas, 73-55. USC was led by Juju Watkins and Mackenzie Forbes, who scored 28 and 20 points, respectively.
THE TROJANS MOVE ON TO THE SWEET 16!@USCWBB keeps dancing after defeating Kansas, 73 -55!#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Ne2qqPGN3T
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 26, 2024
USC led throughout the game, but there were bumps along the way. Starting the second half with a nine-point cushion, the Trojans suddenly found themselves up by just a point courtesy of a run spearheaded by Kansas players S'Mya Nichols and Holly Kersgieter.
Luckily for USC, Watkins made a three and hit free throws to give USC a bit of breathing room entering the final quarter. In the fourth, USC made sure there were no more close calls. The Trojans outscored the Jayhawks 20-9 to finish off the game with a statement.
Juju Watkin's performance in USC's win over Kansas
As for USC's young star, Watkins herself had another big game. The six-foot-two guard tallied a double-double of 28 points and 11 rebounds. In addition, she had five assists, two steals and shot 4-of-8 (50%) from the three-point range.
Watkins did commit six turnovers, but looking at the numbers, she more than made up for it with her offense. Straight off the bat, Watkins immediately put herself on the scoreboard. Shooting a three and hitting two layups, one of which was set up by a nasty euro step, Watkins scored USC's first seven points of the game.
She would continue going on a tear. Watkins looked to score at every opportunity — from three-point pullups to mid-range hits, the freshman guard was a woman on a mission against Kansas.
Her 28-point night comes just after scoring 23 on her March Madness debut over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this past Saturday.
USC women's basketball: 2023-24 season
Ranked by ESPN as the top recruit for the class of 2023, Watkins immediately delivered in her debut with USC. Scoring 32 points and hauling down six rebounds, the rookie steered the Trojans to a win over Ohio State in the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas. She would not stop there.
Carving out stat lines that put her in the USC record books, Watkins' big season was highlighted by a historic 51-point game over Stanford on February 2. This season, the guard is averaging 26.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game for the Trojans.
As for the team, USC women's basketball finished the regular season with a 26-5 (13-5 in conference) record. They garnered the second-best record in the Pac-12 conference. During the Pac-12 finals, USC claimed the throne by defeating top-seeded Stanford (again) to win their second-ever conference championship. Their first and previous title dates back to 2014.
Presently, the school's Monday win over Kansas marks their first Sweet 16 appearance in 30 years. The last time the Trojans advanced that far, WNBA legend Lisa Leslie still suited up for the team as a senior. (per Bleacher Report)
USC ADVANCES TO THE SWEET 16 FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1994 👏 pic.twitter.com/YivoWXK5to
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 26, 2024
However, it's been 40 years since USC last won a national championship. Throughout history, USC stood atop the entire tournament twice, going back-to-back in 1983 and 1984. Can they somehow end the drought?
Looking at the bracket, there are still plenty of formidable foes to go through. If the Trojans somehow win their next game over Baylor, they'll be facing either UConn (3rd seed) or Duke (7th seed) in the Elite Eight for the Portland 3 region's top spot.
And glancing over at the other regions, powerhouses such as Iowa, LSU, Texas and South Carolina remain in contention. All in all, the climb up the throne is high, but with JuJu Watkins spearheading USC, anything is possible.
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