USC Women's Basketball: JuJu Watkins Reflects On Surpassing College Legend For New Record
Though the USC women's basketball team came up short of advancing to the NCAA Final Four on Monday as they lost 80-73 to UConn, star wing JuJu Watkins still made history. In the second quarter, Watkins officially broke the NCAA freshman scoring record.
She broke former San Diego State star Tina Hutchinson's prior record of 898 points and became the first women's college basketball freshman to score at least 900 points. Watkins came into the game with 891 points, eight short of the record, and officially ended her freshman season with 920 points.
"It's definitely an honor," Watkins said, via ESPN's Kevin Pelton. "I mean, of course, like I said, not really the terms I would like to end on. On my season, I mean, I'm just blessed."
In addition to feeling 'blessed' after breaking the freshman scoring record, Watkins expressed gratitude to her team after what has been a phenomenal season.
"This program has offered me a lot. I'm so grateful for it. It's just been a great season," Watkins said, via Pelton. "The record is great. Just the moments that I've got to spend with this team have meant everything to me. I'm just excited for next year."
Even after a historic freshman season, Watkins is just getting started. After a season in which she averaged 27.0 points per game and became a first-team All-American, Watkins is expected to continue leading her team forward in her upcoming years at USC.
