USC Women's Basketball: How Trojans Handled NCAA Tournament Pressure

Alex Kirschenbaum | Apr 18, 2024

Mar 10, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12), guard McKenzie Forbes (25), forward/center Rayah Marshall (13). / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

This year was a banner moment for Lindsay Gottlieb's USC Trojans. The Cardinal and Gold advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in three decades behind a 29-6 record and the stellar play of freshman shooting guard JuJu Watkins, a five-star prospect out of one of the most elite prep programs in LA County, Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth.

Watkins, who remarkably is still just 18, was honored with the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the best shooting guard in the country, was named a First Team All-American by the Associate Press and the USBWA, and was named to the All-Pac-12 Team and the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. The 6'2" wing spoke with LA Clippers All-Star forward Paul George in a new episode of his show, Podcast P With Paul George, about a variety of topics.

She talked at length about how her Trojans dealt with the pressure of being a top seed in this year's NCAA Tournament. USC fell in the Elite Eight to the UConn Huskies, 80-73. It was the furthest the team has gotten in 30 years.

"I think the tournament, I mean it gets harder as you progress [with] more on the line, game plans become even more detailed and everybody's really locked in because [the matchups are] one-and-done. So I would say as far as what's being thrown at me on the defensive end and stuff like that. Of course it gets harder as the season progresses. But for me it was just my first experience, so I didn't really know what to expect just going into it."