USC looks to keep title hopes alive without JuJu

LOS ANGELES — If Southern California wants to win its first national championship in 41 years, the Trojans will have to find a way to get it done without star guard JuJu Watkins.

They notched their 30th win for the first time since 1986 by walloping ninth-seeded Mississippi State 96-59 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday night. But they lost Watkins to a season-ending right knee injury in the first quarter.

She was streaking down the court on a fast break with two Bulldogs defenders nearby when her knee bent awkwardly as she planted her right foot. She immediately crumpled to the court. Watkins had to be carried off, unable to put any weight on her leg. She will have surgery and then rehabilitate, USC said, without specifying her injury.

The sight of Watkins writhing in pain on the court, holding her injured knee while her teammates stood around her and coach Lindsay Gottlieb rushed to the 19-year-old’s side shocked the crowd of 7,808 at Galen Center.

“JuJu is a generational talent,” Mississippi State guard Jerkaila Jordan said. “She’s changed the game in so many ways at such a young age. Seeing her go down was really tough. I said my prayers for her.”

Losing Watkins just five minutes in on a non-contact play turned the home fans angry and they booed the Bulldogs the rest of the game. At halftime, they jeered the MSU cheerleaders’ routine.

“You had to be here to feel it,” Gottlieb said. “I don’t know if people saw that through the TV, but it was a palpable thing.”

The top-seeded Trojans, meanwhile, were all business. Buoyed by the raucous crowd, they hit buzzer-beating shots at the end of the first, second and third quarters and ran their lead to 46 points in the fourth.

“I wouldn’t say this is our defining moment,” said Kiki Iriafen, who scored a season-high 36 points. “It’s what we expect of ourselves. We expect to win in this tournament regardless if it’s going our way, we have people, we don’t have people. That’s the standard here.”

Next up is the Sweet 16 in Spokane, Washington, where the Trojans (30-3) play fifth-seeded Kansas State (28-7) on Friday.

USC has yet to know what it’s like playing without one of the biggest stars in college basketball. Watkins started all 34 games as a freshman, leading the Trojans to the Elite Eight while boosting attendance with strong support from her nearby community of Watts.

“I hope she can at some point see just the significance that she has here that goes so far beyond just her talent and abilities,” Gottlieb said. “That’s what’s really generational about it, the way she’s galvanized everyone, and the way that her team had her back and also really is a team.”

This year was supposed to be about winning it all.

It still could be, but the picture looks a lot different without Watkins.

Iriafen, a Stanford graduate transfer, showed what she can do without her running mate, shooting 16-of-22 to go with nine rebounds.

“Kiki is one of the best players in the country. She was electric,” Bulldogs coach Sam Purcell said. “We had our center on her, our guard on her, we doubled her, we went 2-3, we went man-to-man, we trapped her. We never stopped her.”

USC had five players in double figures against the Bulldogs, including three freshmen. One of them, Kaleigh Heckel, along with sophomore Malia Samuels, ran the offense in Watkins’ absence. They combined for nine assists, five steals and two turnovers. Heckel also scored 13 points and had six assists.

Another freshman, Avery Howell, tied her career high with 18 points and had four 3-pointers and six assists. A third freshman, Kennedy Smith, had 10 points and five steals.

“We have a pretty big role this year,” Howell said. “We’re prepared for most moments because of the time we’re given in games and how hard we work in practice.”

The Trojans won their first two tournament games by a combined 83 points.

“We will make sure that we’re pouring into this team, to JuJu and keeping us together because as you saw we are capable of a lot of greatness,” Gottlieb said. “That’s what will continue to be the message to our team.”