The Final Four brackets of the women's March Madness tournament have finally been set. Courtesy of two highly-viewed games on Monday, the Albany 2 and the Portland 3 regions have found their representatives for the remaining matchups in Cleveland. In the Portland 3 region, JuJu Watkins fell short of her first-ever Final Four appearance with USC women's basketball. This was due to none other than Paige Bueckers and UConn, who carved out an 80-73 victory courtesy of a late-game run. Nevertheless, Watkins' performance garnered praise from many, LeBron James included.
The USC star broke the record for most points by a freshman in D-I women’s history during the second quarter. Upon the feat, a congratulatory Instagram story was posted by the NBA superstar himself.
“Congrats and proud of you!” James wrote, sharing an ESPN post about Watkins. (via ClutchPoints' Kit Guinhawa)
It's no surprise that James rooted for USC. After all, Bronny is part of the men's basketball team. And besides that, Watkins put on a scoring clinic to conclude her inaugural March Madness campaign. USC's freshman sensation finished the night with a double-double of 29 points and 10 rebounds, tallying a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
It was a scoring duel between her and Bueckers, who led UConn women's basketball with 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
USC bows out of the tournament
Fresh out of halftime, the score was knotted up at 33-apiece. A UConn run put the Huskies up 12 with over four minutes remaining in the third, but USC trimmed the lead down to four entering the final period.
The final quarter saw another surge from UConn, this time in the final five minutes. USC trailed by just one, 65-64, with 4:36 remaining when Bueckers would spark an 11-0 run that would swing the game heavily in UConn's favor. Bueckers wound up scoring seven out of those 11 points courtesy of two jumpers and a three-pointer. With 1:25 left in the game, a Nika Muhl free throw put the Huskies up 12 once again.
Watkins and Co. attempted one last comeback but free throws and a lack of time sealed the game for UConn.
As a team, USC shot 90% from the charity stripe as compared to UConn's 63%. However, the Huskies had a more efficient field goal percentage. UConn went 28-of-58 (48.3%) from the field while USC shot just 23-of-70 (32.9%).
JuJu Watkins is only getting started
After the game, Watkins was visibly in tears, but she still managed to show appreciation for her teammates during the press conference.
“Like Lindsay (Gottlieb) said, it’s been a great ride,” Watkins said, per the O.C. Register's Luca Evans. “I have the best teammates in the world.”
To conclude her freshman campaign, Watkins averaged 27 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game for USC. Straight off the bat, the six-foot-two guard proved to the basketball world why she was the number-one prospect out of high school.
From her first college game until this month's tournament, Watkins demonstrated a scoring ability at all three levels, to go with playmaking skills and a rare combination of size, speed, & athleticism. Besides the record she broke on Monday, Watkins also surpassed multiple others, such as Cheryl Miller's USC record for most 30-point games in a season.
The future is bright for USC women's basketball with JuJu Watkins leading the way. They may not have won it this year, but to put things into perspective, Watkins is only 18 years old. As good as she already is, she's expected to improve in the coming years…and that's what makes it scary for USC's future opponents.
Follow Us
Subscribe