LOS ANGELES — You could hear a pin drop inside the Galen Center the moment USC superstar JuJu Watkins went down with a season-ending torn ACL injury less than five minutes into No. 1 seed USC’s eventual 96-59 win over No. 9 seed Mississippi State Monday in the second round of the 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament. Watkins stayed on the floor for several minutes as her injury — and the reality of it — sent shockwaves throughout the arena.
The lasting image of one of the faces of women’s college basketball suffering that injury could have been a death knell on USC’s dream season. With Watkins out, her co-star Kiki Iriafen stepped up and delivered her best game in a USC uniform when her team needed it the most.
JuJu Watkins injures knee: USC star’s season ends with torn ACL after contact in Women’s March Madness game
Jack Maloney
Iriafen set a USC program record for points in an NCAA Tournament game (36) and finished just five points off her career-high of 41 set when she played at Stanford….
