Kiki Iriafen drops 3-word reaction as USC teammate Rayah Marshall pulls off tough move

No. 3 USC women's basketball marked its first Big Ten Conference game at Galen Center with a convincing 78-58 win over No. 23 Michigan on Sunday. Sanford transfer Kiki Iriafen scored 18 points in the game, but she made sure she gave flowers to her teammate Rayah Marshall in an Instagram story.

In the video which was posted on Dec. 30, Marshall made an impressive run to score the Trojans' 43rd point in the third quarter. The 6-foot-4 forward stripped the ball from Michigan guard Jordan Hobbs with 5:05 remaining in the third quarter, forcing a shot up, and into the basket.

"I'm hyping 13," Iriafen captioned the video.

Rayah Marshall scores for USC against Michigan. IG image via @ kikiiriafen

In a tightly contested game, Michigan stole the lead in the early minutes of the third quarter. However, JuJu Watkins leveled the game 36-36.

After Avery Howell broke the cycle to put the Trojans in front, Marshall followed up with a 3-point play to extend the lead. Marshall eventually finished the game with 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in 28 minutes of play.

Lindsay Gottlieb credits Rayah Marshall for USC's second-half surge in win vs Michigan

JuJu Watkins was the leading scorer for USC in the 78-58 over Michigan. However, USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb pointed out senior guard Rayah Marshall as the catalyst for the Trojans' resurgence in the second half of the game.

Apart from Watkins, who scored 31 points, USC players struggled on the court, with Kiki Iriafen mostly sidelined for foul trouble despite scoring 18 points. But Marshall, the longest-tenured starter on the team, was solid for the Trojans and rallied the team to a well-deserved win.

“The difference in Rayah’s leadership, just the growth she's had from freshman year on, she can really listen, understand what I'm asking and then get other players to go along too,” Gottlieb said per Los Angeles Times. “And everyone just was along for that. ... Ray is the catalyst for [the third-quarter run].”

Marshall would score seven points and add three assists in the third quarter to lead USC to a 10-point lead. She also had one block, and has now recorded at least one block in the last 11 games.

USC is now 12-1 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play. The Trojans will next host Nebraska in the inaugural Big Ten Conference home stand on New Year's Day.