Less than a week after Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo made her case for the National Freshman of the Year award by lighting up UConn in Gampel Pavilion, JuJu Watkins reminded folks on Friday that she’s a contender for that honor too.
The rookie phenom for USC scored 51 points Friday night in a crucial statement win over Stanford.
Again: Fifty. One. Points.
And she also had 11 rebounds, two assists and four steals.
To put Watkins’ accomplishment in proper perspective, that stat line could only be compared to numbers put up by past legends of women’s college basketball.
For starters, it’s the single-game scoring record for USC, breaking the mark of 39 points set by Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller. And USC is not just any women’s basketball team. This is a program that has also produced the likes of Cynthia Cooper, Lisa Leslie, Pam McGee and Tina Thompson. Watkins just did something that collection of greats never did – and did so just 18 games into her career.
JuJu Watkins sets the USC record with 51 points, most points in D1 this year pic.twitter.com/yQEov1bF8c
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) February 3, 2024
Watkins’ scoring total is also the second-most ever in Pac-12 history, trailing only Kelsey Plum’s 57-point performance against Utah in 2017. Plum – for now – still owns the all-time scoring record for Division I women’s basketball.
And Watkins’ big night marked the most points a freshman has ever scored in a single game since 2010, when Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne piled up 54 points against James Madison.
JuJu Watkins scored 51 of USC's 67 points (76%), the highest percentage by any D-I player in a game over the last 25 seasons.
And Watkins is the first player in the last 25 seasons to score 50 points against an AP top-five team.
— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) February 3, 2024
It’s worth noting too that Watkins didn’t pull this feat off against just any team. She did it against No. 4 Stanford on the road in Maples Pavilion. And she did it against a Cardinal team coached by Tara VanDerveer, who has won more games than anyone else in the history of college basketball.
USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb once said that Watkins is “like your favorite basketball player’s favorite basketball player.” She certainly lived up to that on Friday night.
