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USC Freshman JuJu Watkins Scores 51, Keys Upset of No. 4 Stanford

The USC Trojans phenom tallied the highest point total in a Division I women’s basketball game this season.

Tim Capurso

USC Freshman JuJu Watkins Scores 51, Keys Upset of No. 4 Stanford
USC Freshman JuJu Watkins Scores 51, Keys Upset of No. 4 Stanford /
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Friday was a magical night for JuJu Watkins. 

The USC freshman phenom helped power the No. 15 Trojans to a 67—58 upset victory at No. 4 Stanford. In a game for the ages, Watkins erupted for 51 points, nearly outscoring the entire Cardinal team single-handedly while also setting a school scoring record in the process. 

Watkins, a Los Angeles native, added 11 rebounds, four steals and two assists, helping the Trojans capture their first road win against Stanford since 2001. 

Watkins scored in a variety of ways in a dizzying display, draining six three-pointers, powering to the rim for easy two-pointers and even putting pressure on the Cardinal defense by earning 19 free-throw attempts, knocking down 17 of them. 

Watkins’s 51 points broke the school’s previous scoring record of 50 points, set by Cherie Nelson in 1989. It was also the most points scored by any Division I women’s player this year.

The NCAA Division I record for points in a women’s basketball game is 61 by Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee against Oklahoma on Jan. 23, 2022.

The locker room celebration of Watkins’s feat was electric.

During a postgame interview on ESPN, Watkins was aked, “Caitlin Clark who?” in a nod to the Iowa star, who just moved into second place on the Division I women’s career scoring list. The USC guard responded with class, saying she has “much respect” for the Hawkeyes standout. 

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.