USC lost guard JuJu Watkins to an ACL injury Monday but the Trojans are making the best of a bad situation. On Saturday, USC locked horns with No. 5 Kansas State in the Sweet 16. It was not easy sledding for the Trojans—they trailed 30–28 at the half—but they had Watkins with them in spirit.

Despite the absence of JuJu Watkins, USC defeated Kansas State by the final score of 67-61 in the 2025 NCAA women's basketball tournament on Saturday. With the win, the Trojans advanced to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year.

On Saturday, USC took on the No. 5 seed Kansas State Wildcats in the Sweet 16 in Spokane, Wash. And Watkins was not only unavailable for this game, but will miss the remainder of the tournament and potentially a good chunk of next season, if not all of it.