Watkins hits career-high, school-record 9 3-pointers in No. 6 USC's 94-52 win over Cal Baptist

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JuJu Watkins drops 40, breaks single game USC 3-point record in win

JuJu Watkins drops 40 points and cashes in nine three-pointers en route to a victory over California Baptist.

Dec 4, 2024, 04:44 am

LOS ANGELES -- — JuJu Watkins hit a school record and career-high nine 3-pointers and scored 40 points as No. 6 Southern California routed Cal Baptist 94-52 on Tuesday night.

The Trojans (7-1) earned their third consecutive blowout victory since losing to then-No. 6 Notre Dame 74-61 on Saturday.

Kiki Iriafen added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Trojans. Talia von Oelhoffen had 14 points and six assists and Rayah Marshall had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Watkins had just five points in the first quarter before heating up. She tied her career best with her sixth 3 in the third and added three more before she sat down with 4:08 remaining in the game.

Grace Schmidt led the Lancers (0-9) with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Takeaways

Cal Baptist: The Lancers opened the season with a 30-point loss to Oregon and have dropped every game by double digits. It hasn't helped that they're missing a couple key players due to injuries.

USC: Watkins and Iriafen have scored in double figures in all eight games so far. Tuesday's game was Watkins' 16th with at least 30 points, with 14 of those coming last year as a freshman.

Key moment

Watkins was efficient from long range, hitting 9 of 11 to break the previous school record of seven 3s. After making just one 3 in the first quarter, she hit three in a row in the second. She came into the game shooting 25% from outside.

Key stat

The Trojans had a season-best 12 blocked shots with 20 assists and only nine turnovers.

Up next

Cal Baptist visits St. Mary's on Saturday in the fourth of five straight road games. USC visits Oregon also on Saturday in its Big Ten debut.

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