USC needed a basket. Of course, clinging to a four-point lead in double overtime against UCLA in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament, JuJu Watkins would have the ball in her hands.
She surveyed the defense from just inside midcourt, drove to her left and drew a double team in the paint. Then she threaded a pass through the double team. It was Rayah Marshall who scored the key bucket that sent USC to its first Pac-12 title game since 2014.
While USC’s star freshman has delivered on every expectation in her sensational season leading her hometown team back to national prominence, the Trojans are proving they run on more than Watkins’ iconic bun.