March Madness Win Comes With a Price as Juju Watkins Survives Dangerous Play Against Kansas Jayhawks

Published 03/26/2024, 6:30 AM EDT

Being at the top is not always a fun thing. Looks like the USC freshman got a taste of the same. JuJu Watkins is climbing all the charts for USC while maintaining her humble poise. However, even for the top scorer of the team, things can get a little ugly. Just like the infamous SEC-12 finals brawl, emotions were high for the Jayhawks as their senior guard Wyvette Mayberry jumped into a not-so-pretty physical display of the same.

While JuJu stood back on her feet and ran back on defense, the officials called an intentional foul on the Kansas guard. But how did it all start? At the very beginning of the second quarter, when Kayla Williams made a shot from beyond the arc, No. 0 of the Jayhawks tried to grab the ball. In her attempt to box out JuJu Watkins, Mayberry elbowed her in the face, leaving a deep scar.

Although the collision was impactful and JuJu even fell to the floor, she just dusted herself off and sprinted to help her team out. The officials stopped the game to review the incident. Brian Hall, the official for the day, upgraded the contact to an intentional foul- excessive and severe contact to the face.

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The quarter ended with Kansas 8 points shy of the Trojans. However, the Jayhawks had cut that lead down to 6 entering the final quarter. That is where the Trojans left the Jayhawks sulking by thumping them 73-55. Let us now look at the performance of the freshman sensation and who USC will face in its next matchup.

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JuJu Watkins vs the Jayhawks: From a jump to a fall to a leap!

The No. 12 is surely an essential catalyst for the Trojans this year. She grabbed another double-double with 28 points and 11 rebounds against the Jayhawks. She made 42.9% of the shots from the field and an impressive 50% from the three-point line. In her 37 minutes on the floor, she also assisted 5 times and had 2 steals. At the end of the day, she stood as the team leader in all aspects. But she wasn’t alone.

Fellow guard Mckenzie Forbes had 20 points, with all her field goals coming from deep. For the Jayhawks, S’mya Nichols added 22 points as the team struggled to score.

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Next, USC will face the 5th-seed Baylor Bears in Moda Center, Portland, on March 30. It will be fun to watch JuJu Watkins in her element once again as she tries to take the Cardinal and Gold jersey ahead to the Elite Eight after 3 long decades. Hopefully, things will be quieter for the 6″2′ guard.

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Written by:

Srashti Sharma is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports, known for her in-depth researching skills. From the very first time that she heard about Kobe Bryant, she herself cultivated a Mamba Mentality. She loves the competitive nature of the sport which fuels her inner sportswoman.

Edited by:

Pragya Vashisth

March Madness Win Comes With a Price as Juju Watkins Survives Dangerous Play Against Kansas Jayhawks

JuJu Watkins vs the Jayhawks: From a jump to a fall to a leap!

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