JuJu Watkins hadn’t played a competitive basketball game in 588 days. On Monday night in Las Vegas, the wait ended with 21 points, and No. 3 USC didn’t just win — it ran away with a 100-68 rout of UNLV in the Hall of Fame Series.
How she looked in her return
Watkins finished 9-of-22 from the field in 25 minutes, adding 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Eleven of her 21 points came in the third quarter alone, a stretch where USC outscored UNLV 31-10 and turned a close game into a rout. USC led just 52-39 at halftime before pulling away.
What it took to get back
Watkins tore the ACL in her right knee during the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament against Mississippi State, an injury that ended her sophomore season and kept her out all of 2025-26. Before the tear, she’d been one of the most decorated players in the country, averaging 27.1 points per game as a freshman and 23.9 as a sophomore, and winning the Wooden Award, the Naismith Player of the Year and the USBWA Player of the Year in 2025.
In her own words
“There were days when I could have given up,” Watkins said after the game. “I kept pushing through and I’m just grateful that I’m here.”
It wasn’t a one-woman show
Jazzy Davidson scored 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting, and freshman Saniyah Hall made her college debut with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Kennedy Smith added 12 points and Sitaya Fagan scored 11, giving USC five players in double figures. The Trojans shot 58.8% as a team and forced 24 UNLV turnovers.
What her coach is saying
Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said Watkins is still building back toward a full workload after nearly two years away. “It’s hard to describe how much this team has her back,” Gottlieb said. “The game is just better with her in it.”
What’s next for USC
USC, now 1-0, hosts Utah State on Sunday as Watkins keeps working back toward the player she was before the injury — and a team that spent a season proving it could compete without her gets to find out what it looks like with her back.