Of all the other teams with the most questions, it had to be Kansas State, the Trojans’ opponent in the Sweet 16. The Wildcats, a veteran team, had played most of their season without 6-foot-6 center Ayoka Lee, and the committee had judged the team’s body of work that had largely been made without Lee. Then, ahead of the postseason, Lee announced she was 100 percent and ready to go.
Watkins’ absence and Lee’s presence made this No. 1-No. 5 matchup one of the biggest toss-ups of the third round (though the USC team did keep a Watkins Funko Pop on its sideline through the entire game).
USC has a JuJu Watkins Funko Pop on their bench 🥹 pic.twitter.com/i5kw52Z8Cy
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 30, 2025
With a Trojans rotation relying heavily on three freshmen who had never been in a postseason experience like this before, USC held off Kansas State 67-61 and advanced to the Elite Eight to face UConn, setting up a rematch of the Elite Eight from last season. Though Watkins’ absence has been the overriding storyline of this team coming into the Sweet 16, coming out of the game, the brightest star is that Lindsay Gottlieb’s trio of USC freshmen stepped up at the most important time to punch the Trojans’ ticket to their second consecutive Elite Eight appearance and the eighth in program history.
“It’s not supposed to be easy and it wasn’t easy,” Gottlieb said. “Really pleased, but not surprised. I knew we’d come out and compete.
“There’s so much love for JuJu in our program; everyone values her and knows nobody’s like her, and we’ve kept her close. But I don’t think we’ve ever had this feeling of now, ‘Oh no, all of our goals are gone.’ And neither has JuJu.”
Watkins, who watched the game from Los Angeles, FaceTimed the team in the locker room after the game to celebrate.
“We know that she’s back home supporting us, having a watch party,” said freshman guard Avery Howell. “Doing everything she can to give us that good ‘JuJu’ you could say.”
Kennedy Smith steps up as Trojans’ leading scorer
It was presumed heading into Saturday that star forward Kiki Iriafen would need to carry the load in Watkins’ absence. Iriafen entered the weekend averaging 18.6 points per game and surely became the focal point of Kansas State’s scouting report.
But it was star freshman guard Kennedy Smith, a five-star prospect in the Class of 2024, who stepped up to take the lion’s share of touches and lead the Trojans with 19 points, which tied a career high. Smith, who has scored 29 combined points in her last two outings, shot 50 percent from the field and gave USC a huge spark early with an 11-point first quarter.
“What can I say about our freshman class?” Gottlieb said. “They’re winners above everything else. I got a text here that said, ‘Kennedy F-ing Smith,’ and I ...
