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USC women's basketball may have lost Juju Watkins in Monday night's NCAA Tournament game. However, the Trojans certainly did not lose their Fight On spirit.
Playing without its superstar, No. 1 seed USC dominated No. 9 seed Mississippi State 96-59. With the victory, the Trojans advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.
Now, USC will head up to Spokane, Washington for regional action. The Trojans' opponent there will be No. 5 seed Kansas State. The Wildcats punched their ticket to Spokane with an overtime win over No. 4 seed Kentucky on Sunday.
Without Watkins, USC will certainly have its hands full with a very good Kansas State team. The Trojans will need their other stars—most notably Kiki Iriafen—to step up in order to win the game.
USA TODAY Sports gathered reactions from coach Lindsay Gottlieb and USC players on Monday night in the Galen Center:
"You never want anyone to go down, especially someone like JuJu, that we all lean on in so many ways," USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. "But this team rallied. They rallied for her. They rallied for each other. Our fans had our back. I'm just really proud. I think we showed what kind of team we are."
"The ball was electric," said Kiki Iriafen, the 6-3 graduate student who led USC with 36 points. "We were moving that ball. We were passing that ball. That's what makes the win so grand… I feel like this team, we're just trying to do whatever we can to keep it going."
If USC plays the same inspired brand of ball it displayed against Mississippi State, the Trojans have a chance to keep advancing in the March Madness bracket. Let's indeed see how long this ride can continue.
Tipoff between USC and Kansas State is set for Saturday at 5 p.m. Pacific time on ESPN.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC women, minus JuJu Watkins, meet Kansas State with a ton to prove
Continue reading...
Playing without its superstar, No. 1 seed USC dominated No. 9 seed Mississippi State 96-59. With the victory, the Trojans advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.
Now, USC will head up to Spokane, Washington for regional action. The Trojans' opponent there will be No. 5 seed Kansas State. The Wildcats punched their ticket to Spokane with an overtime win over No. 4 seed Kentucky on Sunday.
Without Watkins, USC will certainly have its hands full with a very good Kansas State team. The Trojans will need their other stars—most notably Kiki Iriafen—to step up in order to win the game.
USA TODAY Sports gathered reactions from coach Lindsay Gottlieb and USC players on Monday night in the Galen Center:
"You never want anyone to go down, especially someone like JuJu, that we all lean on in so many ways," USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. "But this team rallied. They rallied for her. They rallied for each other. Our fans had our back. I'm just really proud. I think we showed what kind of team we are."
"The ball was electric," said Kiki Iriafen, the 6-3 graduate student who led USC with 36 points. "We were moving that ball. We were passing that ball. That's what makes the win so grand… I feel like this team, we're just trying to do whatever we can to keep it going."
If USC plays the same inspired brand of ball it displayed against Mississippi State, the Trojans have a chance to keep advancing in the March Madness bracket. Let's indeed see how long this ride can continue.
Tipoff between USC and Kansas State is set for Saturday at 5 p.m. Pacific time on ESPN.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC women, minus JuJu Watkins, meet Kansas State with a ton to prove
Continue reading...
