Unfortunately, Monday’s second round gave us the most devastating moment of the tournament.
During No. 1-seed USC’s game against No. 9-seed Mississippi State, JuJu Watkins suffered an injury as she drove to the basket in the first quarter. She was writhing in pain and had to be carried off the court by the USC staff. Watkins never returned to play, and after the game, Shams Charania of ESPN confirmed that she had torn her ACL in her right knee.
The game may feel like an afterthought, but the Trojans did take care of business despite the obvious challenge of missing Watkins. USC defeated Mississippi State 96-59, and Kiki Iriafen was magnificent, scoring 36 points on 16-for-22 shooting. She was a shining star in a night filled with darkness inside the Galen Center. She’ll try to do it again when the Trojans take on No. 5-seed Kansas State on Saturday, when a spot in the Elite 8 will be on the line.
While Watkins’ injury and its implications will dominate conversations, there were other important matchups that took place on Monday. Here is a round up of the other games:
UConn dominates again
No. 2-seed UConn took care of business, defeating No. 10-seed South Dakota, 91-57. Paige Bueckers was sensational in the win, scoring 34 points on 14-for-21 shooting.
With…
