Kiki Iriafen and Kennedy Smith lead No. 7 USC to victory over No. 8 Ohio State
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When she committed to USC in November 2023, Kennedy Smith understood she was stepping into the long shadow of a budding superstar.
The same calculus applied, five months later, for Kiki Iriafen, a potential top-five pick in the WNBA draft who traded Stanford and a starring role for USC, a school where she’d regularly be reduced to second fiddle.
Both rising stars in their own right, the talented pair had willingly taken on supporting roles, knowing full well that it would take a full cupboard of stars to carry USC to the heights they hoped to reach.
Never was that more clear than Saturday, in the No. 7 Trojans’ resounding 84-63 win over No. 8 Ohio State. Next to nothing was working for JuJu Watkins. And yet, USC still won convincingly.
Kiki Iriafen scored 15 points to lead the way as No. 7 USC never trailed in victory over Wisconsin.
For 28 minutes, as the two top-10 teams slogged their way through the mud, a frustrated Watkins pressed and pressed, desperate to see a single shot fall. It had been a nightmarish game for the USC star. All 11 of her attempts had clanked away or rimmed out or missed altogether, a slump eerily reminiscent of her 0-for-10 start against Minnesota on Jan. 30.
Such a slump surely would’ve doomed the Trojans a year ago. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb said as much.
“I don’t think we were in a position last year where we could win games without her scoring as much as she had to score,” Gottlieb said. “But obviously we’re built a little differently this year.”
That new foundation was especially strong Saturday, even as Watkins wavered. Iriafen proved to be a force on the interior, scoring 24 points and adding 13 rebounds, six on the offensive glass. And Smith, in her gutsiest game to date, added 13 rebounds, by far a career high, to go with 13 points.
For Iriafen, it was her eighth double-double of the season. For Smith, it was the first of her USC career.
“They set the tone for us,” Gottlieb said.
They weren’t the only ones. Watkins, even while struggling, managed to notch a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds after shooting 50% from the field in the second half. Rayah Marshall proved to be a dominant deterrent patrolling the paint, piling up four blocks before nearly earning a double-double of her own, with 10 points and eight rebounds.
In their first of two straight top-10 matchups, Gottlieb knew that USC (21-2 overall, 11-1 Big Ten) would have to establish its toughness early. Safe to say, that plan came to perfect fruition, as the Trojans’ suffocating defense eventually broke the Buckeyes down.
USC held Ohio State to 29% shooting from the field, led by Smith, who locked down Buckeyes point guard Jaloni Cambridge, holding her to five-for-15 shooting.
“Kennedy is just really, really, really special,” Gottlieb said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever had a better, instinctive, smart, talented defender coming in as a freshman.”
That intensity translated to the glass too, as Smith led USC in rebounding. The Trojans tallied 62 rebounds, their most in a game since 1999, to just 30 for Ohio State. Nineteen of those USC boards came on the offensive end, while Ohio State didn’t score a single second-chance point.
“We got our asses kicked on the boards,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said.
Ohio State (20-3, 9-3) still managed to cut USC’s lead to just seven late in the third quarter when Watkins drove hard to the basket, drawing a foul and hitting the bucket, her first of the game. She hit four more over the final dozen minutes to finish five for 21 from the field.
It wasn’t just Watkins who struggled at first. USC looked stagnant as a whole. Drives were denied. Gimmes around the basket bricked. Errant passes flew out of bounds. Sixteen minutes in, the Trojans had more turnovers (eight) than field goals (seven).
USC eventually ironed out those issues. It exceeded 80 points for the third time in four games. But Saturday’s poor shooting makes six straight games in which Watkins has struggled from the field. Over that stretch she’s shooting just 33% and averaging 10 fewer points per game.
The Trojans still found a way to soldier on without their star at her best.
“Something we talked about is regardless of what happens, we’re going to make mistakes,” Iriafen said. “We’re going to have turnovers. It’s, how do we respond and react?”
Iriafen and Smith both offered a resounding answer, seamlessly stepping into starring roles when called upon.
It’ll take more of the same Thursday if USC hopes to upend undefeated, top-ranked rival UCLA.
“We’re going to need everyone to do something hard,” Gottlieb said. “That’s what it takes.”
Go beyond the scoreboard
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