USC rallies for JuJu Watkins in emotional final night at Galen Center

“It was a true team effort,” Gottlieb beamed. “And I don’t think I’ll forget this night for a lot of reasons.”

USC advanced to the Sweet 16 following their 96-59 win over Mississippi State, but the one thing on most people’s minds following the game was the status of star sophomore JuJu Watkins.

In the first quarter of the Trojans’ second-round matchup, Watkins suffered an apparent knee injury as she pushed the ball on the break. It was a non-contact injury and she had to be carried off the court. She was later ruled out for the remainder of the game, the team announced.

In a statement put out by the team after the postgame press conferences had concluded, it was revealed that Watkins did, in fact, suffer a season-ending injury. She will undergo surgery and then begin her rehabilitation.

But before that was known, during the press conference, there was clear emotion in Gottlieb’s voice. But that emotion wasn’t all sadness. There was a lot of pride. Pride in her team for coming together. Pride in her team for using Watkins’ injury as a rallying cry to keep their foot on the gas and steamroll Mississippi State.

“When you throw a bunch of talented people on a team, it doesn’t become a team until you work through some things. And I always thought throughout the year that if we had something we had to work on. . .when things didn’t go right, right away, we sometimes stressed out,” Gottlieb said.

“This team rallied. They rallied for her, they rallied for each other. Our fans had our back,” Gottlieb continued. “I’m just really proud and I think we showed what kind of team we are.”

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After Watkins left the game, the Trojans would close the first quarter on a 15-6 run to take a commanding 28-8 lead, and never look back.

In Watkins’ absence, it was Kiki Iriafen, once projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft, who put the team on her back. She finished with 36 points and nine rebounds, and after the game, she spoke about how the team rallied together to get the win.

“It’s hard when you have such a key player not with you. But at the end of the day, we have to win the game,” Iriafen said. “Respectfully, nobody cares on Mississippi State that we lost her [Watkins]. I think for us, it was just making sure that we got the job done. We want our season to be extended. So just really rallying and doing whatever we can to make sure that we could get out of Galen.”

While USC was in command of the game throughout, it was the Trojan faithful in attendance who also helped power the team through Watkins’ absence. The crowd was not shy in letting Mississippi State know how they felt with a chorus of boos raining down till the final buzzer.

There did not appear to be foul play when Watkins was injured. She was in between Denim DeShields and Chandler Prater when she went down; but did not make contact with either as she collapsed to the floor.

But there was clear anger from the fans from that point on. The energy picked up and the crowd became almost like a sixth player in helping USC keep their feet on the pedal. From her spot on the bench, Gottlieb felt the energy all around her.

“You cannot tell me that the energy of that crowd and how sort of angry they were with the other team, and how much fired up they were for our team, it’s so much about what JuJu has given to this arena, to this program, to the city,” Gottlieb said. “You just want to give it all back. . .and support her however we can.”

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While the updated news was certainly the worst-case scenario for USC, this team showed that they are a complete sum of their parts. There is at least one more game to played, this coming weekend against Kansas State with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.

Gottlieb made clear that no matter what, she is confident in this group and confident they can hold together.

“The team has become a team, and deserves my best and our best to build that belief in them that they can do anything,” Gottlieb said. “We will make sure that we’re pouring into this team, to JuJu and keeping us together. As you saw tonight, we’re capable of a lot of greatness and that’s what we’ll continue to message to our team.”

And regardless of what happens up in Spokane as the Sweet 16 gets underway, this was the final time USC will be on their home floor until next season. It ended up being an emotional ride, one that as Gottlieb said, she won’t forget anytime soon.

“I think we felt like a tidal wave tonight,” Gottlieb said. “But at the same time, to see this place rally behind her [Watkins], I hope she can, at some point, see this, the significance that she has here that goes so far beyond just her talent and abilities.”