"Lots of lessons to learn": College hoops fans skeptical as JuJu Watkins leads USC to Oregon win
In its first conference play of the season, the USC Trojans defeated the Oregon Ducks (66-53) behind JuJu Watkins' 21 points in 28 minutes. The Lady Trojans mounted a double-digit scoring run in the second quarter and never trailed in the game after that.
USC has now won four straight games after losing to Notre Dame. Oregon (7-3) lost its balance after opening the season with six consecutive wins and earning an AP top-25 ranking.
However, college hoops fans shared their concerns about USC's 13-point win against an unranked Ducks:
"That game was poor .. not a good performance.. lots to work on.. a good team would dismantle it," a fan wrote.
"Lots of lessons to learn from this victory!" another fan commented.
"Mind you, she had very early foul trouble as she was about to go off and fouled out," another fan wrote.
More fans joined in to criticize USC and JuJu Watkins' performance:
"That wasn’t a good game by her even with the minutes she did have.. way too much iso ball again .. Oregon sucked which helped and they shot very poorly .. usc over are a bad team.. no team ball played at all and they have no designated PG!" a fan commented.
"Sat almost the entire 3rd quarter in foul trouble and eventually fouled out with 5 minutes left in the game. Good thing they had a substantial lead.," another fan wrote.
"Lmao JuJu Watkins fifth foul was hilarious," another fan commented.
JuJu Watkins' second-quarter outburst was the difference-maker for the Trojans
After Oregon entered the second stretch with a 13-12 lead, the Trojans went on an 18-0 run. They held the Ducks scoreless in the first five minutes. The visitors led 40-19 at the end of the second quarter after a 15-point outburst by JuJu Watkins.
Watkins struggled with her shot most of the game, shooting just 6 for 15. As the guard found herself in foul trouble late in the game, the Trojans's 28-6 run before the break proved monumental in securing the win. The Ducks outscored USC in every other quarter. They also had more points in the paint and deflections/steals.