JuJu Watkins looked like a special talent from his first game at No. 15 USC, but he took it to another level Friday.
The nation's true freshman and former top 4 prospect fired Stanford to a historic title, scoring a record 51 points in a 67-58 loss. We repeat that for emphasis: He scored 51 points in a game where his team scored 67 points.
And she did it with shots like these:
The USC locker room took some time to celebrate after the game:
The only other scorers for USC were Mackenzie Forbes (12 points), Rhea Marshall (two points) and Clarice Agunwafo (two points). Watkins shot 14-for-26 from the field with 11 rebounds, four steals and two assists.
The rest of the Trojans combined to shoot 7-of-38.
The outburst boosts Watkins' season scoring average to 27.2 points per game, second nationally behind Kaitlyn Clark (32.1 ppg). He hasn't scored fewer than 15 points in a game this season and has surpassed 25 points in 12 of 18 games. That included another stunner from then-undefeated UCLA.
We once said that any day that USC player Lisa Leslie breaks the record has to be a good day. To extend that point, any day a USC player breaks Cheryl Miller has to be a good day.
Watkins did it in three quarters, matching Miller's rookie record of 40 points in a single-game 30-minute game. ESPN Stats & Info. He scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to break the program record held by Sherry Nelson since 1989.
It was the most points scored by any women's college basketball player this season, surpassing Colorado star Celia Watson's 47 points.
