Adam Bradford | Trojans Wire
It didn’t take very long for USC women’s basketball to rise to the top of the Big Ten. Nor did it take Juju Watkins very long to establish herself as the top player in the league. On Tuesday, Watkins was officially named the Big Ten Player of the Year. Obviously, she is the first Trojan to ever do so, since this is USC’s first year in the conference.
During the regular season, Watkins led the conference in points per game with 24.4—nearly five points ahead of the second place finisher. She also finished top five in the league and blocks and top 25 in rebounds, despite primarily playing as a guard.
In addition to being named the Big Ten Player of the Year, Watkins was unanimously named to the All-Big Ten First Team and Defensive Team. Teammate Kiki Iriafen joined her on the First Team, while Rayah Marshall also made the Defensive Team. Both Marshall and Kennedy Smith—who was also named to the conference’s All-Freshman Team—earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors.
Overall, Tuesday was a loaded day for the Big Ten regular season champs, who continue to add more hardware to their collection. USC will now set its sights on the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, where they will open play on Friday.