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LeBron James had a perfect reaction to basketball sensation JuJu Watkins scoring 42 points for the USC Trojans in their win against the Colorado Buffaloes on Friday.
The final score was 87-81, where Watkins scored 22 points in the first half, despite having six turnovers. In the fourth quarter, she changed her jersey from her usual No. 12 to No. 32 during a timeout.
The freshman guard made all 18 of her free throws and hit four 3-pointers to lead the Trojans (21-4 overall, 11-4 in Pac-12) to victory against Colorado, avenging an earlier 63-59 loss in Boulder.
"King James" could not contain his excitement and took to his Instagram to share a still image of Watkins from the game, captioning it:
"Yeeeeaaahhhh JuJu!!!"
During a high-voltage game, Watkins played a significant role in leading the No. 7 Trojans to their seventh consecutive win against the No. 11 Buffaloes. Furthermore, she set a new school record by achieving the most 30-point games in a season, surpassing Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller's previous record.
Watkins also scored the most points ever by a female player in a game at the Galen Center. According to ESPN, she also broke a men's basketball record by exceeding point guard Boogie Ellis's 35-point record from the previous season at USC.
Colorado is scheduled to visit No. 12 UCLA on Monday, while USC will host No. 18 Utah on Sunday.
JuJu Watkins reflects on experiencing such moments
USC team reporter Keely Eure spoke with JuJu Watkins following her record-breaking night at Galen Center. Watkins reflected on past mistakes and her focus on playing smarter and being more locked in:
"Be smart, play smarter, even though that wasn't really the case tonight,” Watkins told Eure. “But yeah, I mean just really locking in on the game plan for me. I didn't do that last game."
According to Watkins, although she had a slow start, she scored 42 points by consistently making the right plays. She also expressed her gratitude to have the opportunity to experience such moments:
“I'm just blessed, honestly,” Watkins said. “I'm blessed that I get to be in this atmosphere, be a part of this environment. I mean, I dreamt about moments."
