The No. 1 seed USC Trojans are seeking their first national championship since 1984 and first Final Four birth since 1986 after back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances.
During the Trojans' Sweet 16 matchup against No. 5 seed Kansas State, the Trojans trailed multiple times without top scorer JuJu Watkins, unable to keep up with the pace of the Wildcats. However, a game-changing 12-5 run during the third quarter put USC in front.
The run was spearheaded by senior Kiki Iriafen and freshman duo Kennedy Smith and Avery Howell. USC never trailed after that en route to a 67-61 win. The Trojans earned a date in the Elite Eight with the No. 1 seed UConn Huskies in Spokane, Washington.
"They're winners above everything else," head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said about her freshmen, who chipped in without Watkins available over the weekend. "We’ve been stepping up all season in different ways, so I think we were really ready for the moment today."Without Watkins, USC's quest for another championship becomes much more complicated. However, the Trojans have a few things in their tool kit that help make the journey easier. The team is the 10th-ranked scoring offense in the nation (81.1 points per game) and ranks 20th for assists per game (17.4).
Here's a look at the full Trojans women's basketball roster:
USC women's basketball roster
Here's the USC roster for the 2024-25 season, including each player's jersey number, position, year in college, height and hometown:
- 0 - Vivian Iwuchukwu, Forward, Freshman, 6'3" - Imo State, Nigeria
- 3 - Aaliyah Gayles, Guard, Redshirt Sophomore, 5'9" - Las Vegas, Nevada
- 4 - Rian Forestier, Guard, Freshman, 5'11" - Helotes, Texas
- 6 - Laura Williams, Forward, Freshman, 6'1" - Tampa, Florida
- 9 - Kayleigh Heckel, Guard, Freshman, 5'9" - Port Chester, New York
- 10 - Malia Samuels , Guard, Sophomore, 5'6" - Seattle, Washington
- 11 - Kennedy Smith, Guard, Freshman, 6'1" - Chino, California
- 12 - JuJu Watkins*, Guard, Sophomore, 6'2" - Los Angeles, California (*Out for rest of season)
- 13 - Rayah Marshall, Forward/Center, Senior, 6'4" - Los Angeles, California
- 23 - Avery Howell, Guard, Freshman, 6'0" - Boise, Idaho
- 24 - Brooklyn Shamblin, Guard, Freshman, 5'9" - Carpinteria, California
- 34 - Clarice Akunwafo, Center, Senior, 6'6" - Anambra State, Nigeria
- 44 - Kiki Iriafen, Forward, Senior, 6'3" - Los Angeles, California
- 55 - Talia von Oelhoffen, Guard, Senior, 5'11" - Tri-Cities, Washington
