What to know about Juju Watkins, USC's star who set freshman scoring record

Southern California women's basketball is getting back to its glory days of Cheryl Miller, Cynthia Cooper, Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson after struggling much of the past decade.

The women of Troy have only made the NCAA Tournament once since 2014, but that is changing thanks in large part to freshman guard JuJu Watkins.

Watkins is seeking to lead USC to its first national title since 1984, the last of the team's back-to-back championships.

Watkins is a 6-2 guard from Los Angeles who was the nation's top recruit coming out of high school. She had offers from Stanford and South Carolina before deciding to stay home and attend USC.

Here is what you need to know about USC star JuJu Watkins:

JuJu Watkins sets freshman scoring record

In the Elite Eight gameagainst Connecticut, JuJu Watkins scored her eighth point early in the second quarter. That put her at 899 points, the all-time freshman scoring mark.

JuJu Watkins in high school

Watkins, whose given name is Judea, is a Southern California native and attended Sierra Canyon High in Chatsworth, California.

As a junior, Watkins was named the 2022 MaxPreps National Player of the Year. Watkins was named the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year during her senior season to become the first Trojans signee to win the award since Lisa Leslie in 1990. Watkins also won the USA TODAY HSSA Girls Basketball Player of the Year award that year after averaging 27.5 points, 13.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game.

"JuJu is the best and most decorated player of her class, both in the country and internationally. I could talk for days about her skill set: her shot-making ability, creativity to the rim, dominance on the boards, defensive tenacity and her elite court vision," USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said of Watkins at the time of her signing.

She also won gold medals with USC at the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup and the 2021 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.

JuJu Watkins freshman season

Watkins made an immediate impact upon her arrival on campus, scoring 32 points in her college debut against Ohio State. She continued to score in bunches, scoring a career-high 51 points in the Trojans' 67-58 upset of then-No. 4 Stanford on Feb. 2.

Watkins led the Trojans to their most regular-season victories in 30 years and was named Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Week 14 times.

Watkins, who was also named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and a first-time all-conference selection, averages 26.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.4 steals per game.

USC's next game in NCAA Tournament

Watkins and the Trojans earned a No. 1 seed in the Portland Regional 3 and beat No. 5 seed Baylor 74-70 on Saturday at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Watkins scored 30 points to lead the Trojans in the Sweet 16 matchup.

USC next faces No. 3 seed Connecticut in the Elite Eight on Monday in another game at the Moda Center. Watkins set the all-time freshman scoring record during the game.