Ashlyn Watkins has found her superpower with South Carolina. What’s next?

On Sunday, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said Ashlyn Watkins had found her superpower.

On Monday, she flew.

Watkins recorded the second dunk of her career in the first quarter of USC’s 62-point rout of Kentucky. Her — and the program’s — first came last season at Clemson. But this one felt different.

“This one was better,” Watkins said with a shy smile.

“It means a lot that I’m getting to actually show who I am.”

Watkins stole the ball with wide open court in front of her. She stockpiled strength as she dribbled down the court, leaping up and dunking in the hoop in front of The Cockpit student section. The garnet-clad crowd at Colonial Life Arena roared and flew to its feet.

But the dunk, which Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy said contributed to the growth of women’s basketball, was simply a public display of something larger Watkins has been cultivating behind the scenes. Her superpower, as Staley referenced Sunday, is Watkins’ confidence and understanding of how she can best contribute to her team’s success on both sides of the basketball.

She played 32 games last season and averaged 10.7 minutes, 4.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 0.7 steals each time out. This season she’s averaging 19 minutes, 9.1 points, seven rebounds, 2.9 blocks and one steal per game.

“I think her defense is probably much more advanced than her offense at this point, but her offense is coming,” Staley said Sunday. “And you can just see the progression to it. It’s in practice. Now she’s got to transition that to the game. And she will.”

Defensively, Staley said Sunday, Watkins can be utilized all over the court. She can defend guards and switch. After USC’s 81-57 victory Thursday over Missouri, Staley said she thought Tigers guard Hayley Frank could’ve easily scored 32 points rather than the 16 she actually netted had Watkins not guarded her with such effort.

Monday night, Watkins had 10 points (on 4 of 6 shooting), eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. She attributed her growth this season to strides she’s made on defense, while acknowledging she needs to work on looking to score more often.

Her dunk Monday night felt like a symbol of her growing confidence on the offensive end of the court. But ask Staley about the viral slam and she’ll say Watkins dunks too often in practice for it to faze her. Staley jokingly challenged the 6-foot-3 forward to do it from halfcourt if she wanted to impress her coach.

Still, one wouldn’t know Watkins’ dunks were a regular occurrence by the way South Carolina’s bench reacted to her emphatic slam. Watkins’ teammates jumped from their seats, as did a majority of Gamecocks fans in attendance, and applauded her high-flying feat.

“It meant a lot to me, especially doing it here in Columbia,” Watkins said. “I’m from Colombia, so just doing it for the FAMs and doing it for my family and my friends, everybody that came to support me at this game.”