JuJu Watkins has been rewriting record books ever since she stepped foot on USC’s campus, and the sophomore sensation continued that trend on Friday in the Trojan’s comprehensive 104-65 win over Saint Louis in a showcase game at the Acrisure Holiday Invitational.
Watkins and her new star teammate Kiki Iriafen became the first USC duo to score 30-plus points in the same game since 1990 when Tammy Story (36) and Lisa Leslie (30) did so in the latter’s collegiate debut.
“I thought to have two dominant scorers on the floor and a team playing with a lot of togetherness was a good formula for us,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “So we’re going to keep trying to do that.”
Watkins poured in 34 points on 12 of 22 from the field for a season-high in the scoring department, and added six rebounds, two assists and three steals. Iriafen, meanwhile, went for 30 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and three steals on 9 of 16 shooting in her best outing since transferring to USC this summer.
Together, the duo nearly outscored the Billikens by themselves.
While USC is ranked No. 6 in the country and moved to 6-1 with Friday’s victory, this hasn’t been the smoothest start to the season for Gottlieb’s bunch. The Trojans added a number of big-name transfers and five-star recruits — one of whom, Kennedy Smith, has already been sidelined with an undisclosed injury that required surgery — and are essentially a brand new team.
They’re still learning how to play with one another, which has been evident in their only two real tests so far: a two-point win over Ole Miss in Paris on the opening day of the season and a loss to Notre Dame last weekend in which they managed just 61 points.
Friday’s 39-point win over Saint Louis was another reminder, though, that very few teams can match their talent. That alone will take them far, and if all the pieces fall into place, they just might win a national championship for the first time in four decades.
