The USC Trojans women's basketball team took advantage of playing their opening-round game of the NCAA tournament at home Saturday.
Superstar freshman JuJu Watkins and senior guard McKenzie Forbes each had 23 points to lead No. 1 seed USC to an 87-55 blowout win over the 16-seed Texas A&M Corpus Christi at the Galen Center. It's the program's first NCAA tournament victory since 2006.
The Trojans came storming out of the gate and held a 21-4 lead over the outmatched Islanders after the opening quarter and never looked back. USC has a dominant defensive performance, holding Texas A&M Corpus Christi to just 33.3% from the field, and 2-of-13 from the 3-point line.
Watkins also added another record to her long list of accomplishments during her first year as a Trojan. The 6'2" guard passed the legendary Cheryl Miller for most points in a single season by a USC player. Miller set the then-record in 1986.
The Sierra Canyon grad is up to 833 points total for the season, which ranks third all-time among freshmen in NCAA history. Watkins is 40 points behind Kelsey Mitchell for second, who recorded 873 points for Ohio State during the 2014-15 season, and 65 points behind San Diego State's Tina Hutchinson, who set the record for freshmen scoring in 1983-84.
Watkins was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, averaging 27 points per game, which led the conference and was second-best in the nation.
The Trojans will take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the second round of the Portland 3 Region at the Galen Center on Monday.