Women's Fastbreak On SI

JuJu Watkins Hobbles to Locker Room After Ankle Injury in USC NCAA Tournament Game

USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins suffered an ankle injury in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Grant Young

Feb 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) reacts against the Michigan State Spartans in the first half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Feb 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) reacts against the Michigan State Spartans in the first half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The No. 1 seeded USC Trojans women's basketball team is off to a solid start to their 2025 NCAA Tournament, as they're dominating their No. 16 seeded UNC Greensboro opponent through three quarters of the game and will undoubtedly cruise to an easy win.

However, Trojans fans (and many college basketball fans more generally) have been struck with fear during the game after what happened to USC star JuJu Watkins in the third quarter.

With about four minutes remaining in the quarter, Watkins rolled her ankle while driving to the basket. Despite being in clear pain, Watkins hobbled over to the wing where she then made a three-point shot in the same possession.

X user @ShowCaseShabazz posted a video of this sequence with the caption, "Juju Watkins rolls her ankle and still hits the 3 right after".

Despite Watkins still nailing this shot, the sophomore superstar and National Player of the Year favorite ultimately hobbled into USC's locker room soon after it happened.

The Sporting Tribune reporter Fredo Cervantes posted a video of Watkins leaving the game on X with the caption, "Juju Watkins twisted her left ankle and then made a three-pointer from the wing.

"Watkins has gone into the locker room limping, which is not a good sign for USC."

Notably, Watkins did return to the bench shortly thereafter, so hopefully that is an indication the ankle issue is not a serious one. Surely there will be an update to come about Watkins' injury status after the game ends.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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