A stacked sports Saturday featured one of the premier matchups in women's college basketball this season, with JuJu Watkins and No. 7 USC traveling to Hartford to take on Paige Bueckers and No. 4 UConn.
USC jumped out to a 13-point halftime lead, before UConn stormed back to take a late lead in the fourth quarter. The two teams traded baskets over the last four minutes, with Watkins scoring or assisting on the Trojans' final eight points to edge out the Huskies 72–70.
There won't be many bigger wins in the sport this year than the one that Watkins, Kiki Iriafen and USC picked up on Saturday night. They celebrated in kind once they hit the locker room after the game, as the team surprised coach Lindsay Gottlieb with a water gun attack before turning their attention on Watkins.
💦💦💦💦 pic.twitter.com/yVgZjfffVJ
— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) December 22, 2024
Watkins led all scorers with 25 points, out-dueling Bueckers, who needed 22 shots to reach 22 points. Sarah Strong had an impressive 22-point, 13-rebound night for the Huskies, but was just 1-for-6 from three-point range. UConn struggled from deep all night, hitting just 6-of-23 threes while the Trojans were an efficient 9-of-15.
USC moves to 11–1 with the win, and has eight days off to enjoy it before a Big Ten home clash with No. 20 Michigan on Dec. 29.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as USC Douses JuJu Watkins, Lindsay Gottlieb in Raucous Celebration After UConn Win.
