Bueckers (28 points) outduels USC freshman Watkins (29), sparking a decisive run over the final five minutes as the third-seeded Huskies top the top-seeded Trojans in Portland, 80-73.
UConn’s Paige Bueckers, right, breaks up a pass intended for USC’s JuJu Watkins during the second half of their NCAA Tournament regional final on Monday night in Portland, Oregon. JuJu Watkins’ defensive instincts as a freshman, assistant coach Beth Burns said back in the good ol’ days of February and USC’s run through the Pac-12, wereExcept here, in front of this hostile crowd with a season slipping away, Watkins couldn’t pounce.
Thirty seconds later, she drained a 3-pointer, pushing UConn’s lead to six – and Watkins wasn’t there. “When you tune in for JuJu, you see Kaitlyn Davis and Kayla Padilla, Rayah , and Kenzie,” Gottlieb said on Sunday. And then, out of a timeout and UConn holding all momentum, she held the ball at the top of the key. Surveying. Bueckers, finally, pressed up on her, staring intently. Watkins jabbed, once. And let fly.When her 3-point shot rang true, she had officially passed Tina Hutchinson’s 1984 NCAA record for most points by a freshman in a single season. In history.
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