JuJu Watkins has looked like a special talent since her first game at No. 15 USC, but she took it to another level on Friday.
The true freshman and former top-ranked prospect in the nation blew No. 4 Stanford to a historic score, scoring a program-record 51 points in a 67-58 upset win. We'll repeat for emphasis: She scored 51 points in a game in which her team scored 67 points.
And I did it with screenshots like this:
The USC locker room took some time to celebrate after the game:
The only other players to ever score for USC are Mackenzie Forbes (12 points), Raya Marshall (2 points) and Clarice Akunuafo (2 points). Watkins also shot 14 of 26 from the field with 11 rebounds, four steals and two assists.
The rest of the Trojans combined to shoot 7-of-38.
The explosion increased Watkins' season scoring average to 27.2 points per game, second nationally to Kaitlyn Clark (32.1 ppg). She has not scored less than 15 points in a game this season, and has exceeded 25 points in 12 of 18 games. This included another stunning result for still undefeated UCLA.
We once said that any day a USC player breaks Lisa Leslie's record has to be a good day. To expand on this concept, any day a USC player breaks Cheryl Miller's car has to be a very good day.
Watkins did so in three quarters, tying Miller's single-game scoring record of 40 points in just 30 minutes of play, per ESPN statistics and information. She then proceeded to score 11 points in the fourth quarter to break the program record held by Sherri Nelson since 1989.
It was also the most points scored by any college basketball player this season, surpassing Colorado star Shelia Watson's 47 points.
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