USC women's basketball star Juju Watkins went a step closer to surpassing Clark in her college basketball record book, surpassing one of Kate Rinklerk's biggest milestones on Sunday night.
In a 72-67 loss to UCLA in the Big 10 Championship Game, Watkins increased 29 points and officially passed Clark's mark for points scored by the players in their first two seasons.
Clark scored 1,662 points in his first two seasons, while Watkins currently has 1,684. Mitchell holds the record at 1,762, so any player in the first two seasons will place Watkins just behind Kelsey Mitchell.
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USC women's basketball player Juju Watkins before a recent match at Calcent Long Beach, Long Beach, California, on December 21, 2023. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times Getty Images)
However, Watkins has yet to play in this year's NCAA Tournament, so he has the opportunity to win more positions at Clark beyond Mitchell.
Watkins has the chance to break Clark's record in most points in NCAA history, scored by basketball players, men or women. Clark defeated the mark with 3,951 in his historic senior season from 2023-24.
Watkins replaced Clark with the face of women's college basketball after Clark began his WNBA career last year. The teen admits that breaking Clark's records is something deep inside her.
“Of course, I'm at the pace, so that's always deep inside me,” Watkins previously told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “The goal is to continue production at this level and do it as efficiently as possible.”
Watkins can have the advantage of playing more games than Clark did in college as his teens are trying to chase the records.
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Southern California guard Juju Watkins will sign the sign after an NCAA women's basketball game against Northridge, California on Tuesday, November 12, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP photo/Ryan San)
Still, Watkins said he “hopes” that she can play like Clark.
“I want you to play like her,” Watkins said.
Watkins had the opportunity to break Clark's record in front of a large audience of women's basketball, influenced by Clark's transcendental influence on sports during her college career. Last year, the NCAA Women's Championship Game gained more viewers than men for the first time in history.
“It wasn't always paid attention, so just looking at it, people just respect sports more, and when young girls enter more sports, their dreams come true,” Watkins said.
Even as other prominent women's basketball figures denounced new fans for negative comments about non-Clark players, Watkins embraced the new fans Clark brought to the game.
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Caitlyn Clarke, left, Juju Watkins. (image)
“The so many new fans who are in the sport are not necessarily challenging, but they can give you even a little headache. I don't know what many people talk about at times, but it's perfect for sports.
“We want to be positive about it, but that's not always the case, so as long as we keep increasing numbers and see more viewership ratings, I think that's something we can ask for.”
Watkins said she wanted those fans to support her too. But even if they end up “hate” her, she will still accept the fact that they are paying attention. When asked if she wanted new sports controversial fans to support her, Watkins said, “Yes, I love supporters, and I love people I hate.”
“I think it's just a part of the game. There are so many aspects to it. So it's the nature of the game, and there's always a negative and positive aspect.”
As Watkins is trying to break Clark's score record, she hopes that many new women's basketball fans will cheer her on, even those who cause her “headaches” and “don't know what they sometimes talk about.” But Watkins also hugs these fans and accepts attention if they “hate” her.
“I love supporters and I love people I hate.”
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