USC Trojans Basketball Star JuJu Watkins Drops 24 Points In Upset Loss To Notre Dame

The No. 3 USC Trojans were upset at home by the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Trojans will have a lot to clean up before facing the No. 23 Oregon Ducks on Dec. 7.

Mar 25, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) during an NCAA Women’s Tournament 2nd round game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

The No. 3 USC Trojans women's basketball team was upset at home for the first time this season as No. 6 Notre Dame escaped from the Galen Center with a 74-61 win on Saturday night.

It was the Trojans' first loss of the season and puts USC at 1-1 vs. ranked opponents. USC superstar JuJu Watkins tied for a game-high of 24 points and added six rebounds and five assists in the loss.

Mar 25, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; USC Trojans center Rayah Marshall (13) drives to the basket during an NCAA Women’s Tournament 2nd round game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

USC needs to limit the turnovers

The Trojans surprisingly had a huge problem keeping control of the ball vs. the Fighting Irish.

USC had three starters finish with five turnovers and another finish with four. Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb cannot be pleased with how her squad handled the ball. If the Trojans have aspirations of making another Elite Eight run, they must learn how to limit the turnovers against ranked opponents. The Trojans had 15 turnovers vs. Ole Miss and 21 vs. the Fighting Irish.

Interestingly enough, it was Watkins who tied for the team-high with five turnovers.

Trojans missed the defensive presence of Kennedy Smith

USC desperately missed Kennedy Smith's tenancity on defenesive. For as talented as Watkins is, the Trojans' best defender is arguably the freshman Smith.

The program announced prior to the game that Smith would be missing an undetermined amount of time due to a surgical procedure from an undisclosed injury.

Following a surgical procedure, FR G Kennedy Smith will be sidelined for today’s game vs. Notre Dame.

She is expected to return to competition this season. pic.twitter.com/Z30v0xNRBW

— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) November 23, 2024

247Sports' Brandon Clay said that Smith's defensive tools could serve her as a primary defender at the collegiate level, and that Trojans have seen that from her through four games into the season.

"Smith plays the game with a consistency and energy that few in her class can match. Smith is an effective rebounder on both ends of the court. There is no reason to believe that these skills will not translate to the collegiate level. Smith possesses the physical tools and lateral mobility to serve as a primary defender against elite wing scoring options as well," he wrote.

USC needs more from their bench

USC easily had their worst game of the season from their bench.

The Trojans' bench finsihed with 0 points as Gottlieb turned to only three players in Malia Samuels, Avery Howell, and Clarice Akunwafo. Neither player registered a point and the bench as a whole went 0-2 from the field.

Samuels was the only player to register double-digit minutes as she finished with 22. Howell, a highly-touted freshman had eight minutes logged.

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