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JuJu Watkins Makes History: USC Trojans Beat UConn Huskies, Paige Bueckers

In one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the regular season, USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins had a historic performance as No.7 USC went on the road to defeat Paige Bueckers and the No. 4 UConn Huskies 72-70 in a game that came down to the final second.

Kyron Samuels

Dec 21, 2024; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) and USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) on the court in the first half at XL Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Dec 21, 2024; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) and USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) on the court in the first half at XL Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images
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The last time the USC Trojans women's basketball team faced off against Geno Auriemma, Paige Bueckers, and the UConn Huskies was in April in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The game was an instant classic in an epic battle that saw Bueckers drop 28-10-6-3-2, which would propel UConn to advance to the Final Four. While USC made it further than it had in 30 years, it wasn’t quite a changing of the guard moment. 

This time around, the No. 7 Lady Trojans, led by sophomore superstar JuJu Watkins, found a way to close out another classic matchup over No. 4 UConn 72-70 in front of 15,684 fans at the XL Center in Connecticut. Watkins put up 25-6-5-3-1 on 9/16 shooting and 3/4 from three-point land. The cherry on top was how Watkins accepted the challenge of guarding Bueckers on the defensive end repeatedly.

"It's just a testament to when you give women a platform, we're going to perform. I think that tonight was an excellent game . . . it was just beautiful to be part of. And I couldn't imagine watching it" said JuJu Watkins after the game. 

Per ESPNStatsInfo, this is JuJu Watkins' fourth career 25-point performance in six games against AP top-five teams. No other player has more than two such games over the last two seasons. That includes Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Hannah Hidalgo, and other prominent names that have dominated big matchups in recent memory.

As well as Watkins played, and she played phenomenally, she was not alone. This Lady Trojan team is deep, and they all pitched in tonight. Stanford transfer forward Kiki Iriafen contributed 16 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists on 50 percent from the field. True freshman star Kennedy Smith made her first appearance since Nov. 15 after having a small surgical procedure, and she added nine points on 3/6 from deep, along with three rebounds and a block. 

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Overall, the Trojans shot 49 percent from the field and 56 percent from the three-point line. While that type of efficiency usually leads to a wider margin of victory, USC turned the ball over 18 times, sparking a massive third-quarter run from the Huskies to erase an 18-point lead in just minutes. USC also only shot six free throws the entire game, five of those by JuJu Watkins. All five of Watkins's attempts came in the fourth quarter. 

There’s plenty that the Lady Trojans can clean up, but that shouldn’t be the focus. For starters, it’s December. No team is going to be playing their best basketball at this stage. Moreover, it’s hard enough to beat UConn if you’re playing at maximum capacity. These are the types of hard-nosed wins against quality teams that build the callouses needed to make a run in the tournament. 

Outside of the product on the court, the cherry on the top of the night was just how far women’s basketball has come. On a day when the College Football Playoff hosted three games, the National Football League played two games with Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes as the centerpieces and the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury took place, a late-window midseason women’s college basketball matchup commanded attention. 

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Kyron Samuels
KYRON SAMUELS

Kyron Samuels is a former college and professional football player now a writer, analyst, & digital host. Kyron is a writer for USC Trojans on SI and contributes to Oregon Ducks on SI. A graduate and letterman at Jacksonville State University, Samuels was a three-year starter, two-time all-conference, and won three consecutive conference titles. After a four-year professional stint between the AFL & XFL, Samuels retired from football. In 2022, Samuels was inducted into the Fairhope Athletic Hall of Fame. Post-playing career, Samuels has become a credentialed sports media member covering the NFL, UFL, USFL, & college football. The NFL Combine, Reese’s Senior Bowl, & East-West Shrine Bowl are amongst the events Kyron has covered. As a guest and host, Samuels has been featured on ESPNRadio, FoxSportsRadio, & IHeartRadio. Outside of sports media, Samuels works as a scouting consultant and has experience coaching at the collegiate level.

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