Kiki Rice reflects on being a female athlete and the growing popularity of women’s sports
Kiki Rice reflects on women’s sports as a whole, what it mean’s to be a female basketball player, and how she expects it to grow in the future.
Sports Seriously
INDIANAPOLIS − Revenge is sweet for UCLA.
A week after being routed at home by USC, the Bruins beat their crosstown rivals 72-67 to win the Big Ten tournament championship. Got the automatic bid that goes with it, too, and a likely No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament. Maybe even the overall No. 1.
UCLA has had no answer for USC since JuJu Watkins got on campus, but the loss last weekend was particularly dispiriting. Coach Cori Close questioned her team’s toughness, and Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez called a players-only film session for Monday morning to regroup. The players said it was both cathartic and helpful, getting them back on the same page with March Madness looming.
The proof came Sunday. Trailing by 13 in the third quarter, UCLA buckled down defensively and got aggressive offensively. They held USC to just two field goals over the last 12 minutes of the game, and allowed Watkins to score just four points in the second half. Lauren Betts and Rice were particularly effective. Betts had three blocks in the fourth quarter while Rice scored six of her 13 points in the final period.
Watkins made things interesting in the final 15 seconds, making a 3, then stealing the ball and scoring a layup. But it wasn’t enough for the Trojans, who lost for only the second time in 2025.
With 29 points in the Big Ten tournament title game Sunday, JuJu Watkins has already scored 1,684 points. That surpasses the 1,662 points Caitlin Clark scored in her first two seasons at Iowa.
INDIANAPOLIS − USC’s cold streak is over. But is it in time?
JuJu Watkins made a jumper with 1:13 left in the game to cut UCLA’s lead to 64-60. It’s the Trojans’ first field goal since 2:17 left in the third quarter. USC had missed its first 13 shots of the fourth before her make.
INDIANAPOLIS − This game might come down to who can hold onto the ball.
USC has four turnovers in the fourth quarter, and eight in the second half. It’s a big part of the reason the Trojans’ offense has been so stagnant.
UCLA, meanwhile, has five turnovers in the fourth and 10 for the half.
UCLA leads 60-56 with a little over 4 minutes left in the game.
INDIANAPOLIS −The momentum has shifted UCLA’s way.
The Bruins are on a 14-2 run going back to the third quarter, and Janiah Barker just gave them their first lead since late in the first quarter. USC’s offense has gone stagnant, but UCLA has also been much more active defensively during the run.
INDIANAPOLIS − UCLA is showing signs of life, cutting USC’s lead to just two points −54-52 − heading into the final quarter.
The Trojans led by as much as 13 early in the third. But they made just one basket in the last 4:20 while UCLA started getting more aggressive inside.
Lauren Betts outmuscled the USC defense to score on back-to-back possessions, drawing a foul on the second and converting the three-point play. Kiki Rice then drove through heavy traffic to score on a driving layup. UCLA had a chance to tie it, but Gabriela Jaquez missed a shot at the buzzer.
JuJu Watkins’ jumper with 4:21 left in the third gave her 20 points against the Bruins, her 26th game of scoring 20 or more this season, according to CBS Sports. USC was 28-2 coming into the game.
INDIANAPOLIS −New half, same old foul trouble for UCLA.
Londynn Jones just picked up her fourth foul, and there’s still 6:22 left in the third quarter. Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez have also picked up their third fouls.
INDIANAPOLIS − UCLA has to see JuJu Watkins in its nightmares.
Watkins scored six points and set up the final possession that ended with Avery Howell draining a 3-pointer to send USC into halftime with a 10-point lead, 45-35.
Watkins already has 18 points and five boards against her crosstown rival.
UCLA is showing more ferocity than it did when these two teams met last weekend, but the result has been much the same. Any time the Bruins get close, Watkins starts doing JuJu things and USC pulls away.
Heading into the locker room at halftime, Kiki Iriafen was asked on the CBS broadcast what USC needs to do to keep up the intensity. Iriafen said they just need to keep feeding Watkins because she’s “cooking.” Not wrong.
INDIANAPOLIS − And you get a foul! And you get a foul! And you get a foul!
Midway through the second quarter, USC and UCLA are both facing foul troubles. Gabriela Jaquez and Londynn Jones, who’ve been tasked with coralling JuJu Watkins, each have two fouls, along with Kiki Rice. But Kiki Iriafen, USC’s second-leading scorer, and center Rayah Marshall both have two for the Trojans.
INDIANAPOLIS − And now Londynn Jones has picked up a second foul.
Jones and Gabriela Jaquez have been the primary defenders on JuJu Watkins, and now both have two fouls with 5:16 still to play in the second quarter. Going to be interesting to see how UCLA coach Cori Close manages this.
INDIANAPOLIS −UCLA had to be having nightmare flashbacks mid-way through that first quarter.
JuJu Watkins made a field goal, followed with a pull-up 3 and then, after a bucket by Kiki Iriafen, outmuscled the Bruins defense for a layup. A Malia Samuels 3-pointer capped the 12-0 run, and USC appeared to be firmly in control.
A pair of 3s by Timea Gardner kept USC from running away, and a layup by Kiki Rice with less than 4 seconds to go pared USC’s lead to 24-19 after one quarter. But UCLA has to find a way to get its offense going − and shut USC’s down.
INDIANAPOLIS − Welp. Three minutes into the first quarter and Gabriela Jaquez already has two fouls.
Jaquez was put on JuJu Watkins, a switch from the first two meetings between the teams. It looked like a smart move initially, with Jaquez not letting Watkins get loose and forcing USC to look to other players to get the offense going. But that plan will have to be altered now.
USC vs. UCLA time today
- Date: Sunday, March 9
- Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
What channel is USC vs UCLA game on today?
TV channel: CBS
- UCLA
- Kiki Rice
- Londynn Jones
- Gabriela Jaquez
- Angela Dugalic
- Lauren Betts
- USC
- Talia von Oelhoffen
- Kennedy Smith
- JuJu Watkins
- Kiki Irafen
- Rayah Marshall
USC’s path to Big Ten Tournament championship game
- Friday, March 7: No. 1 USC 84, No. 9 Indiana 79
- Semifinals, Saturday, March 8: No. 1 USC 82, No. 5 Michigan 70
UCLA’s path to Big Ten Tournament championship game
- Friday, March 7: No. 2 UCLA 85, No. 10 Nebraska 74
- Semifinals, Saturday, March 8: No. 2 UCLA 75, No. 3 Ohio State 46
The JuJu Factor
Geno Auriemma used to explain UConn’s dominance in Diana Taurasi’s days by saying, “We have Diana. And you don’t.” The same could be said for USC’s success against UCLA since JuJu Watkins arrived.
The Trojans snapped a nine-game losing streak to their crosstown rivals last year, Watkins’ freshman season. They’ve now won four in a row, and Watkins is the main reason. She’s averaging 33.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, four blocks and 3.5 assists per game against the Bruins.
In their first meeting this season, when USC handed UCLA its first loss of the year, Watkins scored 38 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had eight — eight! — blocks. She had 30 points in USC’s win last weekend.
“We obviously felt really badly about how we played them the last time and how we showed up, and we don’t ever want to feel that again,” UCLA center Lauren Betts said Saturday night. “So I know we’re all going to change going into it.”
UCLA’s Londynn Jones had her best game of the season in the Big Ten tournament semifinals.
Jones had a season-high 22 points against Ohio State on Saturday night, 18 of which came on 3-pointers. The six made 3s is also a season high.
It was quite a turnaround for Jones, who’d gone 0-for-6 from 3-point range in the quarterfinal win over Nebraska.
“Not only was she spectacular in her numbers, but her response. She had a tough start at the very beginning of the game, and to stay that mentally focused and locked in and to come out and respond the way she did, I think that puts an even bigger exclamation mark on how well she played for the sake of our team,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “I just think that’s not easy to do, and that showed a lot of mental toughness on her part.”
South Carolina became the next team to add its name to the list of automatic qualifiers. South Carolina claimed the SEC tournament with a 64-45 win over Texas, earning its third consecutive SEC tournament victory.
Selection Sunday for both the men’s and women’s bracket is slated for March 16. The announcement comes two days before the start of the men’s tournament and three days before the women’s.
- Selection Sunday: March 16.
- First Four: March 19-20.
- First round: March 21-22.
- Second round: March 23-24.
- Sweet 16: March 28-29.
- Elite Eight: March 30-31.
- Final Four: April 4.
- NCAA championship game: April 6.
- First Four, first-round and second-round games will be played at on-campus sites to be determined.
- The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight contests will be held in two locations: Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington.
- The Final Four and championship game will be held at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
