Southern California guard JuJu Watkins goes to the basket against Notre Dame forward Liatu King as guard Olivia Miles (5) looks on during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)2025-04-03T16:01:47Z Follow APs full coverage of March Madness. Get the AP Top 25 womens college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. TAMPA, Fla. (AP) JuJu Watkins, the sensational sophomore who led Southern California to its best season in nearly 40 years, was honored Thursday as The Associated Press womens college basketball Player of the Year.Watkins, whose Trojans won the Big Ten regular-season title for its first conference crown in 31 years, received 29 votes from the 31-member national media panel that votes on the AP Top 25 each week. Notre Dames Hannah Hidalgo got the other two. Both were first-team AP All-Americans. I think whats so significant about this award is that this was a year that didnt have an absence of talent and stars, and JuJu found a way to elevate herself and her team, USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. Watkins became just the fourth player to win the award in her sophomore year, joining Oklahomas Courtney Paris (2007) and UConn stars Maya Moore (2009) and Breanna Stewart (2014). The AP first started giving out the award in 1995 and Watkins is the first Trojans player to win it. She makes a lot of things that arent easy look easy, Gottlieb said. Its one thing to say shes a generational talent, but another to actually do it and put yourself up with names like Stewie, Maya and Courtney Paris. Watkins is already in the top 10 on USCs all-time scoring list, ranking sixth in just two years. She was averaging 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists before her season was cut short in the NCAA Tournament with an ACL injury suffered in the second round against Mississippi State. Watkins raised her game against the best opponents. In the six games against teams in AP top 10, she averaged 26.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks while shooting 35.4% from behind the 3-point line.She performed her best at the biggest moments, Gottlieb said. I thought she really throughout the course of the year learned how to dominate and empower the others. Watkins is already one of the top draws in the sport with endorsement deals to match and seeing her in person has become a hotter ticket.The Trojans average home attendance rose to 5,932 this season from last years 4,421. Celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart, Jason Sudeikis, Michael B. Jordan and Sanaa Lathan, who starred in Love & Basketball, one of Watkins favorite movies, have shown up. The year before she arrived attendance averaged 1,037.Its hard to miss Snoop Dogg in his custom JuJu jacket, Gottlieb said. This happened organically and authentically. She decided to stay home and cares about her city and has the magnetism to attract people. Its the way she carries herself. Shes confident, but very humble and true to her community. Its amazing to see her impact.___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.