USC Women's Basketball: Trojans Fall Short of Final Four in Loss to UConn as JuJu Watkins Breaks Record

Eva Geitheim | Apr 2, 2024

Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

USC women's basketball will fall short of making their first NCAA Final Four appearance since 1986 after falling 80-73 to UConn in their Elite Eight matchup tonight. After a close battle between two of the top teams in women's college basketball, the Trojans have been eliminated.

Final from Portland. pic.twitter.com/N6FoI8kSNn

— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) April 2, 2024

USC took an early lead in the game, finishing the first quarter up 17-15. UConn then snatched away the momentum in the game's second quarter, before USC went on a run at the end to tie the game 33-33 at the half. UConn snatched their momentum back after the second quarter, and took a 55-51 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Though the Trojans would tie the game again during the fourth quarter, the Huskies managed to pull away toward the end of game, and USC could not come back.

The matchup between Trojans star wing JuJu Watkins and Huskies star guard Paige Bueckers lived up to the hype, as both players were phenomenal in the game. Watkins would break the NCAA freshman scoring record in the second quarter on her way to 29 rebounds, 10 rebounds and two assists. She becomes the first freshman to score over 900 points in a season in women's college basketball history, finishing with 920. Bueckers notched comparable numbers, scoring 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

The bucket that put JuJu in the history books. https://t.co/4FWKUilf7f pic.twitter.com/RUH3NHAmcu

— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) April 2, 2024

Outside of Bueckers and Watkins, USC forward McKenzie Forbes added 24 points and Trojans center Rayah Marshall put in another double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. UConn's Aaliyah Edwards added 24 points.

The loss is a disappointment, but should not undermine all the Trojans accomplished this season. USC completely exceeded their expectations this year, coming into this game with a 29-5 record and a No. 1 seed. The Trojans won the Pac-12 Tournament for the first time in a decade, and advanced all the way to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in three decades. While they would have loved to cap off this season with a Final Four appearance and national title, they ultimately fell short of reaching these goals.