Kiki Iriafen leads No.1 USC past No.9 Mississippi State 96-59 after JuJu Wakins goes down
USC Trojans #44 Kiki Iriafen (F) is driving to the basket for a layup while passing by two Mississippi State Bulldogs players. Photo by Darwin Walker/TGSportstv1 March 24, 2025.
LOS ANGELES, CA - JuJu Watkins gets injured in the first quarter with a leg injury, and the No. 1 USC Trojans (30-3) steam-roll the No. 9 Mississippi State Bulldogs (22-12) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament 96-59 at the Galen Center.
Kiki Iriafen led USC in scoring with 36 points, and eighth rebounds, Avery Howell with 18 points, Kayleigh Heckel with 13 points, Rayah Marshall with 12 points, and Kennedy Smith with 10 points.
"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."
The Trojans had to give props to themselves for their ball movement and finish the game with 29 assists.
"What a performance by this group," USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. "You never want anyone to go down, especially someone like JuJu, we all lean on in so many ways, but this team rallied. They rallied for her, they rallied for each other, and our fans had our back. I'm just really proud and I think we showed what kind of team we are."
USC Trojans #12 JuJu Watkins (G) is pushing the ball upcourt in the first quarter while looking over the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ defense. Photo by Darwin Walker/TGSportstv1 March 24, 2025.
Jerkiala Jordan was the leading scorer for Mississippi State with 17 points, Eniya Russell with 11 points, and Destiney McPhaul with 10 points.
Talia von Oelhoffen's three-pointer and Kennedy Smith's layup gave USC a 5-0 start in the first quarter. Smith knocked down a three-pointer to give the Trojans a 9-0 lead, forcing Mississippi State to call a timeout. After the timeout, Kiki Iriafen made a jump shot to give USC an 11-0 lead.
Mississippi State trailed 11-2 with a layup by Eniya Russell. Watkins had to leave the game with a leg injury after being fouled hard by Chandler Prater with 4:43 left in the quarter.
USC Trojans #23 Avery Howell (G) is pulling up for a three-pointer from the left side of the court. Photo by Darwin Walker/TGSportstv1 March 24, 2025.
USC led at the end of the quarter, 28-8, after Heckel pulled up for a three-point shot from the left side of the basket.
The Bulldogs were down 31-12 after Debresha Powe's layup in the second quarter. Iriarfen pulled up in front of the Bulldogs' bench for a three-point shot that pushed the Trojans lead to 37-14 with 6:40 left before halftime.
Mississippi State was trying to stay close after a basketball by Madina Okot made the score 38-23. Rayah Marshall stole the ball and threw a pass down court to a streaking Smith for a jump shot to give USC a 45-25 lead. USC went into halftime leading 50-27 after Marshall's buzzer-beating three-point shot.
Iriafen led the Trojans at halftime in scoring with 15 points, and Smith and Howell each with 10 points.
The Bulldogs had no answer for the Trojans' offense in the third quarter, trailing 68-37 after a driving layup by Iriafen. USC led 75-42 at the end of the quarter with a layup by Heckel right before the buzzer went off.
In the fourth quarter, Mississippi State was trailing 93-49 with a layup by Destiney McPhaul with 4:43 left in the game. USC took care of their business with the Bulldogs and will head to Spokane to host the No. 5 Kansas State Wildcats.