JuJu Watkins scores 18 points in her home debut to lead No. 21 USC over Florida Gulf Coast 67-51
LOS ANGELES (AP) — JuJu Watkins had 18 points and seven rebounds in her home debut and No. 21 Southern California defeated Florida Gulf Coast 67-51 on Friday night.
The heralded freshman was coming off a 32-point effort in her college debut, an 83-74 win over No. 7 Ohio State on Monday.
Rayah Marshall added 18 points despite four fouls for USC (2-0).
The Trojans trailed 9-0 to start the game before they responded with a 14-2 run to take the lead for good. Marshall had six points and Watkins added four in the spurt that ended the first quarter.
USC outscored the Eagles 19-8 to lead 33-19 at the break.
Maddie Antenucci led the Eagles (1-1) with 19 points.
The Eagles closed within five points in the third before the Trojans closed the quarter with a 23-8 burst, including eight points by Watkins and seven by Marshall, that extended their lead to 58-38.
___
AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
