USC star JuJu Watkins grimaces on the court after suffering what was later announced to be a season-ending knee injury during the first half of their NCAA Tournament second-round game against Mississippi State on Monday night at the Galen Center. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard JuJu Watkins dribbles against Mississippi State guard Jerkaila Jordan during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard JuJu Watkins, left, draws a foul against Mississippi State guard Debreasha Powe during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard JuJu Watkins, right, and center Rayah Marshall, left, defend against Mississippi State guard Destiney McPhaul (1) during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard JuJu Watkins handles the ball against Mississippi State guard Jerkaila Jordan during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard JuJu Watkins dribbles against Mississippi State guard Debreasha Powe during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard JuJu Watkins (12) draws a foul against Mississippi State guard Eniya Russell, left, and guard Chandler Prater (5) during the first half of their NCAA Tournament second-round game against on Monday night at the Galen Center. Watkins suffered a season-ending knee injury on the play. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC star JuJu Watkins grimaces on the court after suffering what was later announced to be a season-ending knee injury during the first half of their NCAA Tournament second-round game against Mississippi State on Monday night at the Galen Center. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC forward Kiki Iriafen shoots the ball against Mississippi State during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard Kennedy Smith, right, reacts as Mississippi State guard Chandler Prater watches during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC forward Kiki Iriafen shoots in front of Mississippi State guard Destiney McPhaul during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Mississippi State guard Jerkaila Jordan, right, reaches for the ball against USC guard Kennedy Smith (11) as Mississippi State guard Chandler Prater (5) and Southern California guard Avery Howell (23) watch during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard Avery Howell reacts after making a 3-point basket against Mississippi State during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC forward Kiki Iriafen (44) and Mississippi State guard Eniya Russell (4) battle for the ball as USC guard JuJu Watkins (12) watches during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC forward Kiki Iriafen (44) drives against Mississippi State forward Kayla Thomas (14) during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard Avery Howell shoots as Mississippi State guard Jerkaila Jordan defends during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard Kayleigh Heckel drives against Mississippi State guard Chandler Prater during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC forward Kiki Iriafen drives to the basket against Mississippi State forward Kayla Thomas, left, during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC forward Kiki Iriafen, right, and center Rayah Marshall celebrate after she scored a basket during the second half against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC forward Kiki Iriafen (44) and guard Kennedy Smith celebrate with center Rayah Marshall, left, after she scored during the second half against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard Kennedy Smith, left, blocks a shot by Mississippi State guard Chandler Prater during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC center Rayah Marshall gestures during the second half against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC’s Kiki Iriafen (44) and her teammates celebrate after she was fouled during the second half of their NCAA Tournament second-round game against Mississippi State on Monday night at the Galen Center. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
USC forward Kiki Iriafen looks on during the second half against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard Kennedy Smith (11), guard Rian Forestier (4), and teammates on the bench celebrate after a basket during the second half against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard Kayleigh Heckel shoots as Mississippi State guard Denim DeShields watches during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard Avery Howell, right, and Mississippi State forward Kayla Thomas during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb gestures during the second half against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC forward Kiki Iriafen, left, defends against Mississippi State guard Eniya Russell during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC forward Kiki Iriafen (44) and guard Rian Forestier (4) celebrate on the bench during the second half against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC center Rayah Marshall (13) shoots as Mississippi State guard Destiney McPhaul (1) and forward Kayla Thomas defend during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC center Rayah Marshall, left, and guard Kennedy Smith embrace during the second half against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC forward Kiki Iriafen (44) walks off of the court after a game against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
USC guard JuJu Watkins, foreground, reacts during warmups as forward Kiki Iriafen, background, looks on before a game against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
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USC star JuJu Watkins grimaces on the court after suffering what was later announced to be a season-ending knee injury during the first half of their NCAA Tournament second-round game against Mississippi State on Monday night at the Galen Center. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
LOS ANGELES — In the blink of an eye, and the buckle of a knee, the cheers that had filled the Galen Center on Monday night went silent.
Concern fell over the arena, because USC star point guard JuJu Watkins had just gone down in a heap, audibly wailing as she grabbed her right knee during the first quarter of the Trojans’ NCAA Tournament second-round game against Mississippi State.
While on a fast-break, Watkins had tried to deke a pair of Bulldog defenders by quickly changing pace for her patented Euro-step, but when she planted her right leg to make the move, it gave out.
As the video board showed the replay of what later was announced as a season-ending injury, that silence yielded to boos. The jeering, seemingly, came without a clear direction. It could have been at Mississippi State’s Chandler Prater, who had fouled Watkins, or at the angst of the situation.
But, among those boos, one fan took a positive turn, bellowing, “let’s show them how deep this roster is!”
Indeed, the USC women’s basketball team fulfilled the request. With Watkins out after her fall at the 4:43 mark of the first quarter, the top-seeded Trojans (30-3) rallied together, playing an unselfish brand of basketball, with an offense that ran through senior Kiki Iriafen to dominate the Bulldogs, 96-59, and advance to the Sweet 16 in Spokane, Washington, where they will face Kansas State on Saturday.
Iriafen scored a season-high 36 points, shooting 16 for 22 from the field, while grabbing nine rebounds. Avery Howell added 18 points and was 4 for 9 from 3-point range, while Kayleigh Heckel filled the ball-handling role left by Watkins, dishing six assists and scoring 13 points.
The Trojans, who held Mississippi State (22-12) scoreless for its first eight possessions before Watkins went down, limited the Bulldogs to 20-of-64 shooting for the night, and forced 20 turnovers.
And, their fans let the Bulldogs have it, booing them every time they touched the ball after Watkins’ injury.
“You cannot tell me that the energy of that crowd and how, sort of, angry they were with the other team, and how much fire they showed for our team is so much about what JuJu has given to this arena, to this program, to the city,” USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said after the game. “You don’t get to go into the coaching manual script, and go by everything the way it’s supposed to happen.”
Pulsed by adrenaline, Gottlieb decided to gather her team as the officials reviewed the foul on Watkins. She looked each and everyone of them in the eye and said:
“We can do this, you know, we’ve got this. We need everybody.”
And her players responded.
“At the end of the day, we have to win the game,” Iriafen said. “Respectfully, nobody cares, on Mississippi State, that we lost (Watkins). So we just really rallied.”
The crowd chanted as if someone had stolen their queen, their roars galvanizing the Trojans to play in her honor, with the same passion she’s given to this city.
Kennedy Smith clapped the floor on defense and got under the Bulldogs’ ball-handlers skin. Rayah Marshall stared down opponents after each of her four blocked shots. The bench rose their left hand in the air to copy Iriafen whenever she finished a left-handed layup.
And when Marshall banked in a 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer, the whole squad swarmed her at midcourt. Iriafen bumped her chest, Howell enveloped her in an embrace, and Aaliyah Gayles wagged her tongue before dapping Marshall up.
“All of those shots, all of those buzzer-beaters, all of those and-ones, those are energy plays for us,” Howell said. “The bench is hype, the coaching staff’s hype, the atmosphere the entire gym – I think that it’s a huge momentum swing for us.”
In fact, the Trojans made buzzer-beating shots in the first, second and third quarters.
They played at their constant break-neck pace, they full-court pressed the Bulldogs into oblivion. They smiled, they laughed, and they talked a lot of trash.
“We weren’t extra,” Gottlieb said. “We were just us.”
Their gleeful, exuberant selves.
At the same time, that joy for USC’s clicking-on-all-cylinders dominance came with a grain of salt as Watkins’ injury remained in the back of minds – and the front of hearts – throughout Monday’s game. But her teammates did their best to create a different headline.
The Big Ten Player of the Year’s absence gave way for Iriafen to be the offensive hub.
She scored on consecutive possessions in the first half, setting up on the left elbow and driving to the basket, then countering with a mid-range jump shot after the Bulldogs took the drive away.
In the second half, she ran pick-and-rolls with Smith and Heckel, the USC bench making goggle signs over their eyes as the guards found her for finger-roll finishes. Iriafen knocked down another mid-range jumper, bobbing her head to mimic the ball bouncing off the rim and in.
“Obviously, Kiki, I think, is one of the best players in the country,” Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell said. “We threw the whole kitchen sink, and the house. But she was just electric. And that’s what great players do. They make plays and they carry a swagger.”
By the third quarter, “Ki-Ki” chants echoed throughout the arena and the Galen Center Em-C, D.J. Mal-ski, started playing the chorus of Drake’s “In My Feelings” which goes: “Kiki, do you love me?”
Iriafen played as if she felt that way about basketball.
Her offense, USC’s defense, the Trojans’ collective enthusiasm, changed the tone of the arena on a night when emotions yo-yo’d on a string.
Instead of wallowing in the unknown of Watkins’ status, the Trojans stuck together and showed their depth, which will be crucial moving forward as they push for a National Championship without their star.
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