South Carolina's Ashlyn Watkins Wows With Dunk During Game Against TCU
The South Carolina Gamecocks are facing off against the TCU Horned Frogs in a top 10 NCAA women's basketball contest on Sunday.
The Gamecocks have jumped out to a quick lead. However, that isn't the biggest story to this point in the game. That would be the dunk produced by Ashlyn Watkins that wowed fans during the contest.
Watkins stole a ball at around half-court in the first quarter against the Horned Frogs. She dribbled down inside the three-point line, slowed down for a moment, then dropped a one-handed dunk right as TCU center Sedona Prince was bearing down on her. Much to the excitement of the fans in the building and those watching at home.
South Carolina women's basketball's X account posted the dunk video with the caption, "ASHLYN DUNK-INS OH MY ‼️😱".
ASHLYN DUNK-INS OH MY‼️😱
— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) December 9, 2024
📺 ESPN2 | https://t.co/OnR8sFt3CL pic.twitter.com/qVJ5U6cFbZ
Just a few months ago, it was in question whether the standout Gamecocks junior Watkins would be playing at this point in the season. This is because she was suspended from team activities following an offseason arrest.
However, Watkins' (and South Carolina's) future changed once all charges against Watkins were dismissed in early November.
Watkins returned to practice soon after, and is now back in the Gamecocks' regular rotation. And in addition to being a key member of Dawn Staley's rotation, she may have thrown down the play of the year thus far.
This isn't the first time that Watkins — who is only 6'3" — has dunked in a game, as she has done so twice in her career to this point, with the most recent being back in January against Kentucky.
We'll surely see Watkins' dunk against TCU on SportsCenter's Top 10 tonight.
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.