Advertisement

JuJu Watkins shines again, leading No. 21 USC to victory over Florida Gulf Coast

USC freshman JuJu Watkins controls the ball against Ohio State.
USC freshman JuJu Watkins, shown here controlling the ball against Ohio State on Monday, finished with 18 points in the Trojans’ win over Florida Gulf Coast on Friday night at Galen Center.
(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
Share via

JuJu Watkins had 18 points and seven rebounds in her home debut and No. 21 USC defeated Florida Gulf Coast 67-51 on Friday night.

The heralded freshman was coming off a 32-point effort in her college debut, an 83-74 win over No. 7 Ohio State on Monday.

Rayah Marshall added 18 points despite four fouls for USC (2-0).

USC is pushing to make a deep NCAA tournament run, building on last season’s success with the help of star freshman JuJu Watkins and other newcomers.

Nov. 5, 2023

The Trojans trailed 9-0 to start the game before they responded with a 14-2 run to take the lead for good. Marshall had six points and Watkins added four in the spurt that ended the first quarter.

Advertisement

USC outscored the Eagles 19-8 to lead 33-19 at the break.

Maddie Antenucci led the Eagles (1-1) with 19 points.

The Eagles closed to within five points in the third before the Trojans closed the quarter with a 23-8 burst, including eight points by Watkins and seven by Marshall, that extended their lead to 58-38.

Advertisement