No. 1 South Carolina holds off JuJu Watkins’ No. 3 USC Trojans
· Yahoo Sports
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Not six minutes into an event dubbed “The Real SC” — After all, why go with something as simple as “No. 1 South Carolina versus No. 3 USC” when you can pretend the stakes are existential? — things got real feisty.
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The ball found its way into the hands of Gamecocks forward Chloe Kitts. JuJu Watkins swarmed for the Trojans. Watkins and Kitts yanked and fought past the whistle for a jump ball. The USC star then brushed by Kitts as she walked away, spiking the volume in Bon Secours Arena, which included her front-row fan club featuring Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.
One mid-November game won’t define the teams in it, but it can say something about the pecking order from there. Sunday was an opportunity for USC, in pursuit of its first national title in more than 40 years, to venture into hostile territory and assert itself in that territory.
But an 89-85 win for the Gamecocks was, in the end, a product of players who have been there and done that doing it once again. The veteran trio of Tessa Johnson, Joyce Edwards and Kitts combined for 63 points, and junior Jordan Lee hustled back to block a shot from Watkins that could’ve tied the game with 15.6 seconds left.
USC’s stars struggled with efficiency for the better part of the afternoon, with sophomore Jazzy Davidson and freshman Saniyah Hall in particular showing their youth. Then they demonstrated how dangerous they can be at the very end, nearly overcoming an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit. Watkins, a national player of the year favorite, scored 11 of her 25 points in the final frame.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
USC Trojans, South Carolina Gamecocks, Women's College Basketball
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