Shortly after the UConn Huskies defeated the USC Trojans in an Elite Eight matchup on Monday night, injured Trojans star JuJu Watkins took to Instagram and posted a heartfelt statement.
In her first comments since suffering an ACL tear during USC’s second-round win over Mississippi State, Watkins, in a post onto her Instagram story, thanked fans for their kind words in the aftermath of the devastating injury while also showing support for her teammates after the season-ending loss.
“Thank you for all the incredible love and support,” Watkins wrote in the post. “Seeing all your messages and kind words has meant the world to me—ya’ll have given me so much hope. Right now, my heart is with my teammates—I wish I could have been out there battling, but I couldn’t be prouder of the fight we’ve fought together. Thank you all.”
Watkins suffered the injury after her knee awkwardly buckled while she was driving on a fast break during the first quarter of the 96–59 win over Mississippi State on March 24. She was unable to put any weight on the leg and had to be carried off the court.
Heartbroken fans, and even fellow athletes immediately took to social media to show support for Watkins, one of the brightest young stars in women’s college basketball.
During the games after Watkins’s injury, her USC teammates made sure she was with the team in spirit, as they wore shirts with her face on them and kept a Funko pop toy figure of her with them on the bench during games.
Now, Watkins is paying back the kind words and support with heartfelt words of her own.
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