As March of her sophomore season approaches, JuJu Watkins continues to be one of the best players and brightest stars in women’s college basketball.
The USC guard has helped the Trojans to a 25-2 record and a No. 4 spot in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, with wins over the likes of UConn, Maryland and, most notably, rival UCLA on her team’s resume.
On Sunday, another challenge awaited in the form of an Illinois team that had won eight of its past nine games and was among the top handful of teams in the Big Ten standings.
Watkins, as she often does, excelled, finishing with 22 points in a 76-66 victory against the Fighting Illini that kept USC in contention for the No. 1 national ranking that became available following Notre Dame’s double-overtime loss Sunday at NC State.
Here’s a closer look at Watkins’ stats Sunday and her overall production this season:
JuJu Watkins points today
On USC’s senior day, Watkins was one of three players to finish with a game-high 22 points. She wasn’t particularly efficient offensively, making only 37.5% of her shots, but more than made up for that at the free-throw line, where she sank all 10 of her attempts.
She was a menace on the defensive end, as well, with a game-high four blocks.
Here’s how Watkins’ stats Sunday:
Points: 22
Rebounds: 5
Assists: 3
Shooting: 6-16 (0-4 3-point shooting)
Steals: 1
Blocks: 4
Turnovers: 1
Fouls: 1
JuJu Watkins stats
Watkins entered the game against Illinois as the No. 3 scorer in Division I, averaging 24.3 points per game. Though her scoring average is down from a year ago, her outing Sunday was her 22nd game this season with at least 20 points.
Here are Watkins’ statistical averages in her two seasons at USC:
2023-24: 27.1 points and 7.3 rebounds with 3.3 assists per game on 40.1% shooting, 2.3 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.
2024-25 (entering Sunday): 24.3 points and 6.9 rebounds with 3.6 assists per game on 42.9% shooting, 2.2 steals and 1.9 blocks per game.