Paolo UggettiMar 1, 2025, 11:46 PM ET
LOS ANGELES -- All USC's JuJu Watkins could do was laugh. Her 3-pointer halfway through the third quarter had not even grazed the net.
"Airball! Airball!," the UCLA student section shouted at her.
Watkins smiled. She had already scored 25 points and USC was up by nine at the time. But the UCLA students on hand saw their opportunity. Every time Watkins would touch the ball, the "Airball!" chants resumed, louder with every word. Yet by the time she checked out of the game with a minute left and the Trojans up 17, Watkins leapt over to the now-quiet crowd, raised her hands and asked for their noise.
"That did fire me up," Watkins said postgame, displaying another smile. "I think I would be remiss to say playing UCLA doesn't motivate me extra."
In two games this season, Watkins and No. 4 USC have had UCLA's number, beating the No. 2 Bruins twice, including an 80-67 decision in Saturday night's regular-season finale, a win that clinched their first Big Ten regular-season title and their first conference title since 1994.
"It's the truest test of consistency and excellence," USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. "It literally took every single person, it was such a team effort."
Over the course of the two crosstown matchups, Watkins has combined for 68 points, continuing her propensity to play her best in the biggest stages and against the toughest opponents. The sophomore phenom now has four straight games of 30 points or more against UCLA. According to ESPN Research, that's tied for the third longest streak against a single opponent in Division I since 1999-00. The only player with a longer streak in that span is Caitlin Clark, with 10 straight against Nebraska, and five straight versus Minnesota.
"She's 19 years old. Her talent is off the charts. ... But it's her humility and the stuff you can't teach, (like) the inner drive," Gottlieb said in her postgame TV interview. "I literally had a phone call with her yesterday and I could just sense through the phone how ready she was."
With Cheryl and Reggie Miller sitting courtside, Watkins owned the first half, draining four 3-pointers on her way to 23 points. As she's prone to do, Watkins drew an entire defense into her orbit and made tough shots look easy while dismantling UCLA's defensive gameplan.
"We did make the adjustment in the second half that we started switching the ball screens more," UCLA coach Cori Close said. "We started having some different rotations that we tried to have to give JuJu some different looks and I thought we defended much better in the second half. But it's really hard."
In the second half, Watkins only had seven points, but she helped force a total of 16 UCLA turnovers on the night (USC scored 25 points off those turnovers) and sealed the deal with two assists that led to two 3-pointers as well as three blocks in the fourth quarter.
"She has stuff no one can teach," Gottlieb said.
"Playing with JuJu, I'm super confident," forward Kiki Iriafen said. "I know maybe I'm not having the best day. She's going to take care of what she needs to do."
Despite Watkins' magic on both ends of the floor, it was Iriafen who became the second-half scoring machine, adding 15 crucial points in the second half after UCLA had cut the Trojans' lead down to four points. The Bruins never held a lead throughout the game.
"We have learned to appreciate the greatness of our stars, and also value what everyone else does," Gottlieb said.
The combination of Watkins' prowess and the team that Gottlieb has built to complement her has worked wonders, especially against UCLA, and it has given the Trojans not only the conference title, or a double-bye in the upcoming Big Ten tournament, but also a projected top seed in the NCAA tournament.
As USC celebrated another rivalry victory, this one at Pauley Pavilion and complete with a trophy and championship gear, some of the remaining fans in the student section had changed their tune. While Watkins walked into the arena tunnel, one held up a whiteboard that said, in blue lettering: "We love you JuJu."
"We're not done. There's a lot more," Gottlieb said. "But I think you have to stop and recognize moments along the way or else you lose the joy of it."
