Top-seeded USC rolled through the first two rounds of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament but the Trojans will face their toughest test against No. 5 Baylor in the Sweet 16 in Portland, Oregon.
USC beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 87-55 in the first round, and then ran away from Kansas 73-55 on Monday.
The Trojans are making their 11th trip to the Sweet 16 and first since 1994 season
USC is led by freshman guard JuJu Watkins, who was named a finalist for the Wade Trophy and the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy. Cheryl Miller is the only Trojan to have won a Wade Trophy (1985). Miller and Lisa Leslie are USC’s two past Naismith Trophy winners.
Watkins set USC’s single-season scoring record during the Trojans’ NCAA first-round victory, and she now holds 861 points in her freshman season.
She already holds another USC record — male or female — with 13 games with 30 or more points scored — a mark that beats out Iowa’s Caitlin Clark previous national record of 12 for the most such games for a freshman over the last 25 seasons.
Watkins is also No. 2 scorer in the nation with her 26.9 points per game.
In addition, USC’s back court has gotten a boost from McKenzie Forbes, has hit at least one 3-pointer in 30 games this season.
