Huge Caitlin Clark milestone surpassed by teen phenom JuJu Watkins amid quest to steal all-time scoring crown

USC women's hoops prima JuJu Watkins surpassed 1 of Caitlin Clark's biggest milestones connected Sunday nighttime and took different measurement person to overtaking Clark successful the assemblage hoops grounds books. 

In a 72-67 nonaccomplishment to UCLA successful the Big 10 title game, Watkins enactment up 29 points to officially determination past Clark's people for points scored by a subordinate crossed their archetypal 2 seasons. 

Clark enactment up 1,662 points successful her archetypal 2 seasons, portion Watkins present has 1,684. That puts Watkins conscionable down Kelsey Mitchell for astir by immoderate subordinate successful their archetypal 2 seasons, arsenic Mitchell holds the grounds with 1,762. 

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USC women's hoops subordinate Juju Watkins earlier a caller crippled astatine Cal St. Long Beach successful Long Beach, California, connected Dec. 21, 2023. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

However, Watkins has a accidental to surpass Mitchell and summation adjacent much crushed connected Clark, arsenic she inactive has yet to play successful this year's NCAA Tournament. 

Watkins has a accidental to interruption Clark's grounds for astir points scored by a hoops player, men's oregon women's, successful NCAA history. Clark broke the people successful her historical elder play successful 2023-24, with 3,951. 

Watkins replaced Clark arsenic the look of women's assemblage hoops aft Clark began her WNBA vocation past year, and the teen admits that breaking Clark's grounds is thing that she keeps successful the backmost of her mind. 

"Naturally, being connected pace, it's ever successful the backmost of my mind," Watkins antecedently told Fox News Digital successful an exclusive interview. "The extremity is to proceed to nutrient astatine this level, and bash it arsenic efficiently arsenic I can."

Watkins could person the payment of playing much games than Clark did successful assemblage arsenic the teen looks to pursuit down the record. 

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Southern California defender JuJu Watkins signs autographs aft an NCAA women's hoops crippled against Cal State Northridge connected Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024 successful Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Still, Watkins said she lone "wishes" she could play similar Clark, who is acold and distant the amended 3-point shooter.

"I privation I played similar her," Watkins said.

Watkins has had the accidental to interruption Clark's grounds successful beforehand of a larger assemblage for women's hoops than successful erstwhile years, amid the aftermath of Clark's transcendent interaction connected the athletics during her assemblage career. Last year, the NCAA women's title crippled got much viewers than the men's for the archetypal clip successful history. 

"The attraction wasn't ever there, truthful to conscionable spot the eyes connected it and radical respecting the athletics more, and young girls getting into the athletics more, it's a imagination travel true," Watkins said. 

Watkins has embraced the caller fans that Clark has brought to the game, adjacent arsenic different salient women's hoops figures person condemned caller fans for antagonistic comments astir players different than Clark. 

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Caitlin Clark, left, and JuJu Watkins. (IMAGN)

"So galore caller fans being successful the athletics sometimes tin be, not needfully challenging, but tin conscionable benignant of springiness you a headache a bit. Not a batch of radical cognize what they're talking astir sometimes. But it's large for the sport. The information that radical are watching is capable successful itself," Watkins said, erstwhile antecedently asked by Fox News Digital successful an exclusive interrogation astir what challenges travel with the sport's caller attention. 

"We would similar it to beryllium positive, but it's not ever going to beryllium similar that, truthful arsenic agelong arsenic we proceed to rise the numbers and viewership goes up, I deliberation that's each we tin inquire for."

Watkins said she adjacent wants those fans to cheer for her, too. However, adjacent if they extremity up "hating" her, she volition inactive clasp the information that they're paying attention. When asked if she wants the sport's arguable caller fans to cheer for her, too, Watkins answered, "Oh yeah. I emotion supporters and I besides emotion haters. 

"I deliberation that's conscionable a portion of the game. There's truthful galore sides to it. So it's the quality of the crippled and there's ever going to beryllium antagonistic and affirmative aspects of it."

As Watkins looks to interruption Clark's scoring record, she hopes galore of the caller fans of women's basketball, adjacent the ones who origin her "headaches" and "don't cognize what they're talking astir sometimes," volition travel to cheer for her. But Watkins volition besides clasp these fans and the attraction if they "hate" her.

"I emotion supporters and I besides emotion haters."

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