USC women’s basketball took care of business very easily against Rutgers on Sunday night. The Trojans led 22-8 after one quarter, 37-14 after two, 69-24 after three. They finished with a 50-point win, 92-42.
We wrote this about the Piscataway Runaway:
“USC could have won by 70, not 50, if it wanted to. Naturally, backups got a lot of fourth-quarter minutes, as the Trojans put the game to bed early. They led by 23 at halftime, 37-14, and then built that lead to 41 points (59-18) midway through the third quarter. USC came very close to holding Rutgers under 10 points in each of the first three quarters. Rutgers scored 10 in the third after managing just eight in the first and six in the second.
“How lopsided was this game? Rutgers committed roughly twice as many turnovers (27) as the number of field goal attempts it made (14). The scary part of all this: USC did not play a good offensive game. You might see the 92 points and think the Trojans played good offense, but they really didn’t. They hit just 9 of 28 3-pointers, under 33 percent. They committed 17 turnovers.”
It actually could have been even worse for Rutgers. How did things unravel for the Scarlet Knights? One part of the story was an eye-opening development before the game involving five-star freshman Kiyomi McMiller. Let’s take you through the details of this off-court drama, which preceded a game which had absolutely zero drama against USC:
INSTAGRAM POST
Kiyomi McMiller announced she would not be playing due to a decision made by her coach, Coquese Washington, hours before the Rutgers-USC women’s basketball game on Sunday. This naturally raised speculation about the reason for the decision.
WHY KIYOMI MCMILLER WAS SUSPENDED
A report from NJ.com contained multiple sources who said an altercation with a Rutgers teammate is why Kiyomi McMiller was suspended for the USC game.
SOCIAL MEDIA DRAMA
A separate NJ.com report — different from the one we linked to above — documented a number of posts or reposts on social media made by Kiyomi McMiller after the suspension and the loss to USC. Some — if not all — of those reposts have subsequently been deleted.
RUTGERS COACH STATEMENT
Rutgers coach Coquese Washington said this to NJ.com about her decision to suspend Kiyomi McMiller for the USC game:
“For me, coaching is not just what happens on the court on game day. It’s about how we impact these young women in our program in all aspects, from their character, their growth into womanhood and their decision making. That’s always going to be first and foremost in how we go about our decision making in his program.”
KIYOMI MCMILLER STATISTICS
Kiyomi McMiller averaged 30 points per game in her senior year of high school. A five-star recruit, she had been averaging 20 points and 5 rebounds per game in her freshman season at Rutgers. This naturally left the Scarlet Knights without their most talented player against USC and JuJu Watkins. A lot of women’s basketball fans were anticipating a Kiyomi-JuJu matchup. It never happened, which added to a pervasive sense of dissatisfaction surrounding the game.
TRANSFER PORTAL RUMORS?
This larger episode will unleash a torrent of speculation surrounding Kiyomi McMiller and her plans for the 2025-2026 women’s college basketball season. It is natural to wonder if McMiller will hit the transfer portal. If she does, another school will be in position to get a very talented scorer.
STATEMENT FROM KIYOMI MCMILLER’S CAMP
Kiyomi McMiller has a management team which includes advisor Leonard Ellerbe, a veteran sports business executive. He told NJ.com the following:
“It was shocking. In my opinion, this should have been handled in an entirely different matter, and I think this is embarrassing to the entire program.
“I don’t want to speak in terms of long-term, but this is — you don’t treat people like this. You don’t handle a situation like this. I’m trying to say the right thing here. Who knows what her future looks like right now? Who knows what her future looks like?”
USC BLOWOUT
Without Kiyomi McMiller, this game was noncompetitive from the start. USC scored its 20th point roughly eight minutes into the game. Rutgers scored only 20 points in the first 25 and a half minutes. USC led by 16 points late in the first quarter and led by 41 midway through the third.
The blowout helped USC women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb rest her starters. None played more than 30 (JuJu Watkins). Four played no more than 27 minutes (Kiki Iriafen). Three played no more than 23 minutes. USC’s starting five got a lot of rest before a huge Wednesday showdown versus unbeaten Big Ten foe Maryland, a fellow top-10 team.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Explosive controversy swallows USC women’s basketball opponent
