Women's Fastbreak On SI

JuJu Watkins' Historic Stat Line Steals the Show as USC Defeats No. 1 Ranked UCLA

JuJu Watkins produced an all-time great performance as the USC Trojans beat the No. 1 ranked UCLA Bruins on Thursday.

Grant Young

Feb 2, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) in action during the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Feb 2, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) in action during the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The No. 1 ranked UCLA Bruins women's basketball team is undefeated no more.

They faced off against the No. 6 ranked USC Trojans on February 13 in what was not only a battle for LA but a battle between two of the country's best teams and 2025 NCAA Championship frontrunners.

And it was the USC Trojans who emerged victorious by a score of 70-61.

Trojans star sophomore JuJu Watkins produced perhaps the most spectacular all-around performance seen in women's college basketball this year with this win. She finished the game with one of the most ridiculous stat lines you'll see this year: 38 points (25 of which came in the first half alone) including going 6-9 from three-point range while adding 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and a whopping 8 blocks.

According to an X post from ESPN's Alexa Philippou, "JuJu Watkins is the first player with 35 points, 5 blocks and 5 assists in a game in the last 20 seasons across all DI. She's also made 6 3s, has 11 boards, 8 total blocks"

While Watkins may not be getting the same amount of absurd hype that she received as a freshman this season, she's still putting together another historic season and WNBA executives are surely foaming at the mouth for the opportunity to draft her (which won't arrive until 2027).

This win marked the first time that USC has beaten the AP No. 1 team since 1983, and it's made even more significant given that it's against their arch-rival.

Watkins and her Women of Troy are rolling right now, and it will be fascinating to see what next week's AP rankings look like.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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