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Printable Page
03/24 23:25 CDT USC routs Mississippi State 96-59 to reach Sweet 16 after
losing JuJu Watkins to injury
USC routs Mississippi State 96-59 to reach Sweet 16 after losing JuJu Watkins
to injury
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- JuJu Watkins went down with a gruesome-looking 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.
"She's being seen by our great medical team," Gottlieb told ESPN at halftime.
"JuJu is the toughest kid I know and she's gonna be good one way or another."
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.
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.
The Bulldogs were led by Jerkaila Jordan with 17 points.
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.
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.
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.
Key moment 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.
Key stat The Bulldogs are known for their defensive prowess, but USC forced them into 20 turnovers that led to 27 points for the Trojans.
Up next The Trojans play fifth-seeded Kansas State (28-7) in the Spokane 4 regional semifinals on Saturday. ___ 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.
Key moment 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.
Key stat The Bulldogs are known for their defensive prowess, but USC forced them into 20 turnovers that led to 27 points for the Trojans.
Up next The Trojans play fifth-seeded Kansas State (28-7) in the Spokane 4 regional semifinals on Saturday. ___ 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.
