SPOKANE, Wash. — It was never a question of belief. Even in the throes of a nightmare scenario, forced to forge ahead without USC’s biggest, brightest star, Lindsay Gottlieb had done all she could to keep doubt from creeping in, knowing full well it could sink the Trojans.
The truth was few outside of the Trojans’ locker room knew what they were capable of without JuJu Watkins, whose season-ending anterior cruciate ligament tear loomed large over the entire tournament. Even fewer had surely expected two freshmen could fill that void.
But in the final minutes Saturday, it was the most unproven among the Trojans who lifted them to the Elite Eight with a 67-61 win over Kansas State, setting up a rematch with Connecticut on Monday.
As freshmen, Kennedy Smith and Avery Howell spent most of the season in supporting roles behind Watkins. But in the star’s absence, Smith and Howell stepped into the spotlight, carrying USC with a combined 37 points.
With under two minutes remaining and USC’s lead at three, it was Smith who poked away a Kansas State possession at midcourt and took off in transition. She was fouled and hit a free throw.
Kansas State’s Serena Sundell cut the lead to two points with 1:14 remaining, only for Smith to have her layup blocked at the other end. But a corner three-pointer from Kansas State clanked away, and the ball ended up in Howell’s hands.
The freshman hit two more critical free throws to push the lead to four, and Kansas State couldn’t close the gap.
It would take a group effort for USC to survive, just like Gottlieb had promised. Smith scored a season-high 19 points. Howell, stepping into the starting lineup in Watkins’ place, scored 18. Rayah Marshall had 10 points and nine rebounds, while another freshman, Kayleigh Heckel, played a critical role off the bench, scoring eight.
Altogether, the sum of the Trojans’ supporting parts would be enough to put away Kansas State. Whether it’s enough to get past Paige Bueckers and Connecticut is another question entirely.
No matter USC’s assurances that they moved past their star’s season-ending injury, the weight of Watkins’ absence was evident. The team strode into the arena wearing black shirts with her signature bun peeking out from a Nike swoosh. Red No. 12 jerseys dotted the stands. A Funko pop figurine of Watkins was even present on the sideline, passed between teammates on the bench throughout the game.
No one, least of all Kansas State, had any idea what the Trojans would look like without Watkins, who played such an outsize role on both sides of the ball.
The expectation was Kiki Iriafen would take the reins as USC’s lead scoring threat, following her 36-point explosion in the second round. But any attempts to get the ball inside to her or Marshall early were swallowed up by Kansas State’s defense and stalwart, 6-foot-6 center Ayoka Lee. The pair missed their first nine combined shots in the paint, while Iriafen didn’t score until just over two minutes left in the first half.
It was Smith who instead stepped into the spotlight. She scored 11 of USC’s first 13 points, more than she had in any other game in the last month.
But outside of Smith’s outburst, USC struggled to find its stride on offense. The rest of the Trojans shot a paltry 21% in the first half.
USC made up for poor shooting with a suffocating defensive effort. But that effort waned as the Wildcats shot 54% from the field in the second quarter and took the lead just before half.
The two teams would trade the lead back and forth from there. But it was USC and its fearless freshmen who would walk off the court, still alive, even without their star in the lineup.
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