Juju Watkins bounces back regularly after tough games or halves
It wasn’t the prettiest first half for Juju Watkins of USC women’s basketball against Minnesota Thursday night. In the first 20 minutes, USC’s superstar sophomore had just two points. She failed to make a single field goal, with her only two points coming at the free throw line.
In the second half, however, Watkins quickly bounced back. She scored five points in the first minute of the third quarter, and wound up finishing with a more than respectable 20, to go along with 11 rebounds.
After the game, USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb spoke of Watkins’ second half bounce-back.
“She’s a very mentally tough human being and basketball player,” Gottlieb said. “She finds a way at some point to figure it out. I believe if she misses 5 in a row, the next 5 are going in.”
With the schedule about to get tougher, the Trojans will need JuJu Watkins to be at her best moving forward. Up next is a trip to Iowa for a showdown with the Hawkeyes on Sunday. JuJu Watkins memorably lit up Stanford last season after a bad shooting game against Washington. JuJu stayed in the gym and worked on her shot. She came out and torched Stanford. It would be great for USC women’s basketball if JuJu can similarly smoke Iowa after this choppy shooting display against Minnesota.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: JuJu Watkins’ resilience is what USC women’s basketball will rely on
