JuJu Watkins lauds USC teammate for key role in stopping Lauren Betts' UCLA: "She rattles the players so much...their minds are scrambled"

USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins had an all-around performance on Thursday, Feb. 13, in front of their capacity home crowd. With the sophomore's awe-inspiring squad, the sixth-ranked team in the nation defeated the current No. 1-ranked program in the country, the UCLA Bruins, by an astounding 11 points, 71-60, to stay the Big Ten conference standings with a 12-1 record, 22-2 overall.

Despite the second-year star spearheading the charge once again, she was supplemented this time by freshman Kennedy Smith. The first-year two-way player was integral in the Lindsay Gottlieb-coached squad's defense while still providing steady contributions of four points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal in 31 minutes of action.

During the post-game press conference, Watkins had this to say regarding the recent resurgence of her rookie second stringer. The 19-year-old was reiterating how much of an impact Smith truly gives to the Trojans, emphasizing that she used up most of her energy towards the defense.

"She's just amazing on both ends of the floor. I think she really gives us the energy that we need on defense. She rattles the other players so much where their minds are srambled. She's such an important part of our team and, I'm glad we have her and she definitely gives us all the energy we need on defense," she said. (4:40)

Although her numbers did not show in the box score, Smith has seemingly found her niche in the current crop of Trojans. Providing a fresh, young defensive prowess to USC which has aspirations of winning the national title this year, Smith can be a huge help towards that goal this year.

Smith and the rest of the Trojans now focus their sights on the unranked Washington Huskies on the road on Sunday, Feb. 16, with the hopes of staying atop of the conference standings.

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Kennedy Smith could see more minutes played after the performance against UCLA

For a player who is soaking in her first stint of college basketball, Kennedy Smith has shown some potential in her game, especially on the defensive side. In the USC Trojans triumph over the UCLA Bruins, she was able to limit standout names such as Kiki Rice to a lowly shooting performance.

On the campaign, Smith is averaging a cool 9.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and a remarkable 2.3 steals per game as the Chinito, California native aspires to pad on those stats this year. With the way she is able to stop the basketball, then we may see more of her coming soon.