LOS ANGELES — The boos rained on Mississippi State’s players every time they brought the ball up the court. They continued into halftime as the Bulldogs cheerleaders took the stage, then when Mississippi State came back out of the locker room, and when one of them tangled with Rayah Marshall in the postgame handshake line. Advertisement The blame didn’t lie with them, but the USC fans needed somewhere to direct their anger.
It was overwhelming. How could it not be? The air had been sucked out of the building, their greatest fear materializing in front of them. The hopes of the best team most of them could remember in their lifetimes crumpled, in an instant.
In the most wide-open women’s NCAA Tournament in recent memory, the Trojans had their best chance of getting back to the Final Four for the first time in 40 years and even capturing their third national title in program history. Their belief existed because of JuJu Watkins, the hometown hero who brought excellence back to USC basketball and life to a moribund fan base. As Watkins fell to the floor Monday night, and her screams echoed in the arena, all that was left was pain.
“I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t rattled seeing JuJu on the floor and crying,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “I’m trying, obviously, my best to be what I need to be for the team, but internally it’s a lot.” That feeling extended beyond the Galen Center, beyond the Trojans fan base, when news spread late Monday night that Watk.
