Playing for the first time since learning JuJu Watkins will miss the rest of the NCAA tournament with an ACL tear, the USC Trojans used key contributions from their freshman class to defeat the Kansas State Wildcats 67-61, advancing to the Elite Eight.
— Playing for the first time since learning superstar JuJu Watkins will miss the remainder of the NCAA tournament with an ACL tear, the USC Trojans used key contributions from their top-ranked freshman class to defeat the Kansas State Wildcats 67-61 and advance to their second consecutive Elite Eight matchup against the UConn Huskies.
Although she was unable to travel and is back home in Los Angeles, Watkins stayed in contact with her team before and after the win, FaceTiming the group to join the postgame celebration.
« She hit me and just said how proud she was, before this game even, of the coaching staff, of the players, of everything that we are », said USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb. « And then right after, it was hard to hear in the locker room, but there were a lot of smiles, and my daughter was blowing kisses to her and said, ‘JuJu’s not hurt?’
« And I said, ‘No, she’s still hurt, but she’s happy today and with us.’ So just trying to keep her spirit with us. She’s just such an incredible young person and I think the way the team has responded says a lot about them, but also a lot about her and the true amount of chemistry that they have with each other. »
When the Trojans beat Mississippi State on Monday in the game where Watkins suffered the injury early in the first quarter, they relied heavily on senior Kiki Iriafen, the team’s second-leading scorer.
