SPOKANE, Wash. — The mindset could not have been clearer for USC heading into its Sweet 16 clash against Kansas State.
The Trojans, a woman down without superstar JuJu Watkins, still expected to live up to their billing as the top seed and come out with a win against No. 5 seed Kansas State. And when they did, their celebration — remarkably demure for advancing to the Elite Eight — reflected a team that still has a lot left to prove.
“This team is really focused on continuing our journey and achieving our goals even though the path looks a little different than it did just a few days ago,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “We’re capable of enormity when we do it together, and that’s been the message more than anything else.”
USC knew there would be an element of surprise Saturday because opponents spend so much time scouting Watkins. But even when the Wildcats were able to focus on the other players, the load was so evenly spread that it was impossible to stop all of them.
No one player could individually replicate the production of Watkins, not even All-American Kiki Iriafen. What USC needed to do was re-create Watkins in the aggregate by leaning into their remaining players’ individual strengths, which is exactly what transpired in a 67-61 win.
That started with…
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