The Big 10, historically featuring the strongest teams from the middle of the country, will hold an unlikely conference title decider on Saturday night between No. 2 UCLA and No. 4 USC. Both are set to their final regular season game in their debut season in their new conference.
USC star JuJu Watkins played a big part in handing UCLA their only loss of the season two weeks ago. She spoke confidentially of how her Bruins plan to knock off the Trojans on Sunday.
“The main thing is to go out there with enough hunger and tenacity that nothing can stop us,” Watkins revealed as one theory to besting UCLA once again.
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“You never know what the defense is going to throw at you and it’s just a matter of adjusting as quick as possible,” she continued.. “Just staying present, that’s the biggest thing, and then knowing what made we’re of and playing our best.”
The 25-2 Trojans were handed one of the four top seeds in a recent NCAA tournament sneak peek. They’re led by 2024 All-American Watkins, who is once again having a strong season.
The star sophomore is averaging 24.2 points on 42.8% shooting while grabbing 6.9 rebounds and adding 3.6 assists a night. She’s on pace to break Caitlin Clark’s all-time NCAA scoring record through two years.
Watkins (R) was the star as USC handed UCLA their only loss of the season in February (
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Watkins poured in 38 points as USC knocked off UCLA 71-60. We knew that we had to raise our level in order to beat them,” Bruins coach Lindsay Gottlieb said of the win. “We took the ‘W’ on this one, but back to work. That’s the way it goes.”
UCLA coach Cori Close admitted her team needed the wake-up call. “I honestly think we needed to be punched in the gut,” she said. “We hadn’t had enough adversity to force us to go to different levels.”
The 27-1 Bruins are led by star center Lauren Betts, averaging 20.- points and 9.8 rebounds a night. Six other players on the squad score 7.8 points or more per contest.
UCLA has arguably the most impressive win of the NCAA season: their early season 77-62 victory over South Carolina snapped Dawn Staley’s side’s 43-game win streak.
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