JuJu Watkins went down with a season-ending knee injury five minutes into Monday night’s game. Top-seeded Southern California kept going without its star player, pummeling Mississippi State 96-59 to reach the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
Watkins scored three points on free throws before injuring her right knee. The crowd went silent as she writhed in pain and clutched her knee while her teammates looked on helplessly and coach Lindsay Gottlieb rushed to her side. Watkins was carried off the floor by multiple people.
Her teammates were terrific in her absence. They kept their poise while building leads of 28-8 after one quarter, 50-27 at halftime and 75-42 after three. The Trojans hit buzzer-beaters to end each of the first three quarters and they celebrated by jumping around on the court.
Kiki Iriafen, a Stanford graduate transfer, scored a season-high 36 points on 16-of-22 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. She left with 6:29 remaining and the crowd chanting, “Kiki! Kiki!” Freshman Avery Howell added 18 points, hitting four 3-pointers.
“What a performance by this group,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “You never want anyone to go down, especially someone like JuJu that we all lean on in so many ways, but this team rallied. They rallied for her, they rallied for each other, our fans had our back. I’m just really proud and I think we showed what kind of team we are.”
The Bulldogs were led by Jerkaila Jordan with 17 points.
“My prayers and thoughts are with JuJu,” MSU coach Sam Purcell said. “I’m hoping the best for her because she’s special.”
The Trojans (30-3) were up 34 points in the third. Their fans loved it, getting on their feet and roaring, especially when Iriafen waved both arms in the air, urging them on.
“It’s hard when you have such a key player not with you,” Iriafen said. “For us, it was just making sure we got the job done. We want our season to be extended.”
Mississippi State couldn’t handle the bigger Trojans, who instead of being deflated without Watkins seemed hell-bent on punishing their opponent.
The Bulldogs (22-12) had more than just the Trojans to contend with. The home crowd, angered by the loss of one of the game’s biggest stars, booed every time MSU touched the ball and their cheerleaders heard it, too, getting jeered during a halftime routine.
“It just shows how ride-or-die our fans are,” Iriafen said.
The victory keeps the Trojans on a potential collision course with Paige Bueckers and UConn in the regional final in Spokane, Washington. They got knocked out by the Huskies in last year’s Elite Eight.
Losing Watkins early in the game gave the Trojans a chance to showcase their depth. They had five players in double figures, including three of their seven freshmen.
The Bulldogs are known for their defensive prowess, but USC forced them into 20 turnovers that led to 27 points for the Trojans.
The Trojans play fifth-seeded Kansas State (28-7) in the Spokane 4 regional semifinals on Saturday.