Eight months ago, LeBron James praised women's basketball and its growing popularity, speaking about “icons” that the latter has at the university. The Lakers player notably cited Paige Bueckers et JuJu Watkins. The two women had a meeting on Saturday evening, for an anticipated NCAA meeting, between the Huskies of the first and the Trojans of the second.
The two teams had crossed swords during the 2024 NCAA tournament and Connecticut had dismissed USC to offer itself a place in the semi-finals of the Final Four. This time, the Californian university took its revenge, winning away 72-70, in front of an audience of 16,000 people.
“It was great to see so many people come out for this game. I don't think I've ever played in front of that many people.”commented JuJu Watkins, who scored 25 points (9/16 shooting), in addition to 6 rebounds and 5 assists in his team's success. “A lot of things she does are very hard, but she makes them look easy”comments his teammate Kiki Iriafen.
USC dominated the first half and was up to 18 points early in the third quarter. UConn then reacted and the end of the game was very close. Despite her 22 points (9/22 shooting), Paige Bueckers, announced as the future first player drafted in the WNBA in 2025, failed to offer victory to her university.
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