No. 3 USC tipped off the 2024-25 women's college basketball season with a gritty 68-66 win over No. 20 Ole Miss in Paris. It was a bit of a sloppy game for both teams, but the stars gave us a preview of how electric this season could be.
The Trojans were far from having a perfect game, but USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said this was a good learning opportunity for her team.
"We've always felt like this team, this year in practice, is going to be able to win in a number of different ways," Gottlieb said.
Ahead of the season, one of the biggest conversations surrounding USC was the addition of Iriafen and how powerful of a duo the former Stanford forward could form with JuJu Watkins, who was coming off a historic freshman season. The duo certainly lived up to the hype against Ole Miss. Watkins led all scorers with 27 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, five blocks and three steals. Meanwhile, Iriafen tallied 22 points and 13 rebounds.
With the score tied 66-66 and less than 30 seconds remaining, Iriafen had a chance to take a layup, but opted to pass. It eventually came back to her, and she was able to get to the free throw line. Iriafen made both attempts, and USC had a two-point lead with 9.6 seconds remaining.
Iriafen then came up big defensively.
Really good end of game defense from Kiki Iriafen. Contain the drive, get a hand on the ball. pic.twitter.com/qnIDfFHQBg
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) November 4, 2024
"I think we all just kind of came together in the fourth quarter," Iriafen said. "It took a little longer than we would have liked but we came together and we were like, what do we want to do? Do we want to leave Paris with a W or an L?"
Unfortunately for Ole Miss, the player who had fouled Iriafen late was Kirsten Deans, who was making some key baskets down the stretch. That was Deans' fifth foul, so the Rebels were not able to rely on her for their last possession.
Deans missed most of last season because of a torn ACL, but her comeback was outstanding. She didn't have the best shooting night, but she still led the way for her team with 19 points and four 3-pointers.
KK drains ANOTHER three 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8w3oU3LDB1
— Ole Miss Women's BB (@OleMissWBB) November 4, 2024
If the Trojans got anything out of this game, it should be that they have to take care of the ball better. They were up by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, but let their opponents come back because of multiple mistakes. Turnovers were not really an issue for USC last year, but the team registered 26 on Monday, nine of them coming from Watkins.
"We didn't come to Paris to play an easy game," Gottlieb said. "I gave a ton of credit to Ole Miss. We were not great, we were not good at times and that's largely because that's how they make you feel. That's how they try to play."
Watkins also talked about what made Ole Miss so difficult to beat.
"I think length is one of their advantages," Watkins said. "They are a very tall team, they are also very experienced. To play against that our first game, you know, it's challenging. We are new, we are still learning each other, but at the end of the day it comes down to who wants to win the most. We made sure that we did everything we could to secure the W."
The Trojans got to the free throw line often, and they converted 23 of 29 attempts. Meanwhile, Ole Miss went 15 of 21 from the charity stripe.
The Rebels' defense effectively disrupted USC, but their offense left a lot to be desired as they went 22 for 74 through four quarters. Madison Scott was another big contributor for Ole Miss on Monday, scoring 14 points on 6 of 16 from the field. Kennedy Todd-Williams made just two of her 18 field goal attempts, but pulled down nine rebounds.
The Trojans will be back on the court on Saturday to host Cal Poly. Meanwhile, Ole Miss will try to bounce back on Sunday, when they host Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
