It’s a sad week for USC fans. Star basketball player JuJu Watkins is out for the rest of the NCAA tournament with a torn ACL. She suffered this injury on a fast break early in the game against Mississippi State. The Lady Trojans advanced to the Sweet 16 after a comfortable win, but Watkins’ teammates know they have to take their game up a notch to remain in the tournament.
“We didn’t want to let her down,” teammate Kiki Iriafen said to ESPN as she shot 16 of 22 from the field. “We just want to keep dancing, so whatever it takes is what I wanted to do. I think it just shows our toughness.” Iriafen had 36 points and 9 rebounds in a 96-59 victory over the Bulldogs.
As most fans lost confidence, head coach Lindsay Gottlieb kept her cool because she knew the team couldn’t let the unfortunate injury distract them from the game. “I’d be lying if I told you that I wasn’t rattled seeing JuJu on the floor crying,” Gottlieb said. “This is a human game, and so I obviously tried my best to be what I need to be for the team, but internally, it’s a lot.”
In her Sophomore season, Watkins averaged 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from three-point range. While losing your star player hurts, Gottlieb is more than ready to see her team step up and answer the call during Watkins’s absence. “We know that we’ve got no punks in our locker room, that we have a team that’s going to step up,” Gottlieb said. “This team rallied, they rallied for [Watkins], they rallied for each other.”
Gottlieb continued, “Obviously just heartbroken if there’s a serious injury for JuJu, but at the same time, I hope she can at some point see the significance she has here that goes far beyond just her talent and abilities. I mean that’s really what is generational about it, the way she’s galvanized everyone.”
USC plays Kansas St. in the Sweet 16 on March 29 at 5 p.m. on ESPN, and it will be interesting to see Gottlieb’s plan to replace the production of Watkins. The team has struggled with and without Watkins when facing teams on equal levels with them.
