USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins had an average performance in the Pac-12 championship game against the Stanford Cardinal registering nine points, three rebounds and one assist in the 74-61 win on Sunday.
Watkins also gave credence to some of the comparisons to Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark as she broke the freshman points scoring record (801 points) previously held by Clark (799 points).
Recently, the USC star reposted a picture of a fan wearing specially customized nails of the Trojans guard on her Instagram story.
"Ok," Watkins captioned it.
JuJu Watkins fueling the meteoric rise of the Trojans
It is no secret that JuJu Watkins has reignited a revolution on and off the court for the Trojans, with celebrities packing USC games while the team pulls out win after win on the court (26-5, 13-5 Pac-12).
After the win against Cameron Brink's Stanford Cardinal, the USC Trojans are now ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll, their first top 3 ranking in 38 years, showing their rapid rise since the JuJu Watkins era began.
This season, they have a 4-2 record against teams ranked in the AP Poll's top 10. In the last nine seasons combined, their record against top 10 teams has been 4-35.
After the win against the UCLA Bruins in the Pac-12 championship semifinals on Friday, Watkins said that she did expect rapid growth in the team.
"Yeah, I'm not gonna lie. I did not think this would happen this soon," Watkins said (h/t EPSN). "But I guess timing is everything, and I'm glad that we're here. This group, it means everything. And I'm just blessed, honestly. But yeah, better than anything I could've hoped for really."
The Trojans' rise has been meteoric, from not making March Madness for eight years between 2014 and 2022 to earning a No. 1 seed.
USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb could not hide her glee at the situation during her postgame news conference.
"We're honored to be part of this kind of resurgence, this moment in women's basketball. That's not lost on us," Gottlieb said (h/t ESPN). "I do think there's a bigger thing at play, and we're really enjoying that, and I'm grateful every day to be in that situation with this group."
With JuJu Watkins in their team, the Trojans fans will dare to dream as their team heads into the Big Dance as a surprise package and one of the tournament's dark horses.
Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, or Kim Mulkey - who is NCAAW's highest-paid coach? Find out here