Without JuJu Watkins, USC women's basketball picks up pieces in Sweet 16

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Editor's note: Follow UConn vs. USC women's basketball live updates from their Elite Eight game in March Madness.

USC women's basketball is still reeling from the loss of superstar guard JuJu Watkins after she suffered a season-ending ACL injury early in USC's 96-59 second-round win over Mississippi State on Monday.

But that doesn't mean the No. 1 seed Trojans have lost hope for the upcoming Sweet 16 matchup against No. 5 seed Kansas State on Saturday.

"It's not that I think they're ready. I know they are," coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. "Our growth as a team has been dependent on a lot of things, but not the least of which that our freshmen have played incredibly important roles and have made big plays and big defensive stops and big shots throughout the year or else we wouldn't have had the record that we had."

Watkins, who was named National Player of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writer's Association (USBWA) on Wednesday, finishes her sophomore season averaging 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game on 42.6% shooting.

The Trojans are now only slight favorites without Watkins, but Gottlieb doesn't have any doubts for her team.

Although the Trojans will have to make several big adjustments, senior Kiki Iriafen led the team with a 36-point, 8-rebound performance vs. Mississippi State. Freshman guard Avery Howell led the bench with 18 points and six assists.

However, USC will make adjustments, including combo guard Talia von Oelhoffen playing at wing more.

"Obviously, we've lost a big piece, but we have a lot of reps playing with other lineups in practice," von Oelhoffen said. "We just rely on (Watkins) for a lot of shot-making, play-making, so other people's roles are going to expand and just have higher volume. But I think we're confident in all of our abilities, so, yeah, I think just some different looks a little bit, different offense, but it's more of the same stuff that we've been doing all year."

The Trojans have gone through a lot mentally over the last few days. After Watkins went down, Gottlieb gave her a journal to "say when you feel it, like, let yourself feel all the feelings that you're feeling because if you do that, then at some point you're able to move on from them and go further in your life."

USC has appreciated several people reaching out, from UConn coach Geno Auriemma to UCLA coach Cori Close.

A projected timeline for Watkins' recovery wasn't shared, but teammate Malia Samuels offered insights from a past ACL injury she suffered in high school, which took her a year and a half to get back on the court.

"I think everybody has kind of reacted differently. Everybody has different relationships with Ju," Samuels said. "I know for me personally, I have gone through an ACL injury, so I feel for her, and I know what the journey is like, so obviously, my reaction is going to be different than obviously somebody else. But we have all gone through, like, sadness, just empathy. We've gone through it all. But we also realize that Ju would want us to win and carrying her competitive spirit with us is the main thing that we need to focus on."