USC was hoping that JuJu Watkins’ injury looked worse than it was.
But less than two hours after the Trojans routed Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday night, the team’s fears were confirmed.
Watkins tore the ACL in her right knee in USC’s 96-59 win, ESPN reported, and the program announced that the two-time All-American will need season-ending surgery.
Watkins’ right knee buckled awkwardly when she was bumped by an opposing player while driving to the basket on a fast break near the 4:45 mark of the first quarter.
What ensued was a scene no one wants to see in sports.
Watkins collapsed on USC’s court, grimacing in pain.
The sophomore curled into a ball and grabbed her right knee.
Kennedy Smith was the first Trojan to get to the fallen superstar.
The other three quickly met Smith as they formed a circle around Watkins as the team’s trainer came to her aid.
Moments later, she was carried off the court by two USC staff members and taken to the locker room.
At halftime, USC announced that Watkins would not return to the game.
Watkins was taken to USC Keck Medicine, where the severity of her injury was confirmed.
Recovery timelines for ACL injuries are hard to gauge because of several factors.
On average, rehab can last nine to 12 months.
Several Trojans stepped up in Watkins’ absence.
KiKi Iriafen led the team with a season-high 34 points.
She also had nine rebounds and two blocks.
Freshmen Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel combined for 31 points off the bench to help USC advance to its second straight Sweet 16.
on Monday night during USC’s game. ESPN
“I’m feeling a lot of emotions obviously but the biggest one is pride,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said after the win. “What a performance by this group. 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 that we had to work on which would be when things didn’t go right away, we sometimes stressed out. And how about this? Something didn’t go right for us. You never want anyone to go down, especially someone like JuJu that we all lean on in so many ways. But this team rallied, they rallied for her, they rallied for each other, our fans had our back, I’m just really proud and I think we showed what kind of team we are… What you saw here was a really good, determined team that had something to play for.”
March is about surviving, and the Trojans did that on Monday.
“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. “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 [Center].”
Losing Watkins complicates USC’s pursuit of making its first Final Four appearance since 1986.
Not only is she the team’s leading goal scorer but she’s one of the Trojans’ best defenders and is the heartbeat of the team.
Watkins, a contender for National Player of the Year, is averaging a team-high 24.6 points, seven rebounds and 3.5 assists this season.
She helped USC capture the Big Ten regular-season title.
Watkins had 22 points, eight rebounds and three steals in USC’s 71-25 win against UNC Greensboro in the Round of 64 Saturday.
USC managed to fly by Mississippi State with little resistance.
But the road moving forward only gets tougher from here.
The Trojans are set to play fifth-seeded Kansas State in the Sweet 16 Saturday.
If USC wins that, it could mean another Elite Eight date with UConn, who’s scheduled to play third-seeded Oklahoma next weekend.
