Juju Watkins led USC’s valiant effort to defeat Paige Bueckers’ UConn team as the nation tuned in for one of college basketball’s greatest showdowns.
On Saturday night, No. 7 USC beat fourth-ranked UConn, 72-70, despite leading by 18 points in the second half thanks to Watkins’ 25 points.
On the other hand, Bueckers finished the game with 22 points.
The pair of All-Americans guarded each other for most of the game, a rematch of last season’s Elite Eight game, which UConn won to advance.
With the score tied at 67 and 1:21 to go, Watkins found teammate Rayah Marshall to give USC a lead with a layup. After a crucial miss by the Huskies, Watkins was fouled with 31 seconds left.
While fans held their breath after a miss on her first free throw, Watkins secured the second free throw to give the Trojans a 70-67 lead.
Juju Watkins starred with 25 points in USC’s valiant effort to defeat Paige Bueckers and UConn
Bueckers scored 22 points as the Huskies came back from an 18-point deficit on Saturday
Seconds later, UConn’s Sarah Strong scored a basket to cut the lead to one after the Huskies rallied from a 51-33 deficit in the third quarter.
Watkins’ free throw became the dagger as she returned to the charity stripe and made both attempts with 19.5 seconds left.
As the clock expired, Strong was fouled on a three-point attempt with five seconds left. After splitting the first two free throws, the freshman missed the third attempt intentionally to allow her team to rebound.
After successfully boxing out, the ball found its way back to Strong, whose desperate attempt fell at the buzzer.
Watkins countered her scoring with six rebounds, five assists and three blocks, including one from Beuckers that led to an impressive transition basket at the other end.
On the other end, Bueckers aided Strong’s 22-point, 13-rebound double-double with three boards and two dishes.
The win moved the Trojans to 11-1 in their first true test since the loss to Notre Dame on Nov. 23. Ahead of them are three ranked Big Ten teams in their next four games.
As for the Huskies, they are 10-2 with their only other loss also coming against the Fighting Irish.
Both teams play on the 29th, with the Trojans hosting Michigan on the west and UConn hosting Providence on the east coast.