Juju Watkins shines in USC’s victory over Paige Bueckers and UConn as college basketball stars square off
Juju Watkins spearheaded USC’s valiant effort to beat Paige Bueckers’ UConn team as the nation tuned in to one of college basketball’s biggest showdowns.
On Saturday night, No 7 USC emerged over fourth-ranked UConn, 72-70, despite blowing an 18-point lead in the second half, thanks to Watkins’ 25 points.
On the other hand, Bueckers finished the game with 22 points.
The pair of All-Americans guarded each other for most of the contest, a rematch of last season’s Elite Eight matchup, which UConn won to advance.
With the game tied at 67 and 1:21 remaining, Watkins found teammate Rayah Marshall who gave USC a lead with a layup. After a crucial miss by the Huskies, Watkins was fouled with 31 seconds left.
While a miss on her first free throw had fans holding their breath, Watkins secured the second free throw to give the Trojans a 70-67 lead.
Juju Watkins shined with 25 points in USC’s valiant effort to beat Paige Bueckers and UConn
Bueckers scored 22 points as the Huskies came back from an 18-point deficit on Saturday
Seconds later, UConn’s Sarah Strong scored a basket to cut the lead to one after the Huskies rallied out of a 51-33 deficit in the third quarter.
Watkins’ free throw shooting became the dagger as she returned to the charity stripe and made both attempts with 19.5 seconds remaining.
As the clock expired, Strong was fouled on a three-point attempt with five seconds on the clock. After splitting the first two free throws, the freshman missed the third try intentionally to allow her team to rebound.
After successfully boxing out, the ball found its way back to Strong, whose desperate effort fell to the buzzer.
Watkins parlayed her scoring with six rebounds, five assists, and three blocks – including one of Beuckers that led to an impressive transition basket on the other end.
On the other hand, Bueckers aided Strong’s 22-point and 13-rebound double-double with three boards and two dishes.
The victory moved the Trojans to 11-1 in their first real test since losing to Notre Dame on November 23. Ahead of them are three ranked Big Ten teams in their next four games.
As for the Huskies, they are 10-2 with their only other loss also coming against the Fighting Irish.
Both teams will play on the 29th with the Trojans hosting Michigan out west and UConn hosting Providence on the east coast.
