Kiki Iriafen Stats Today: How did USC star fare vs UConn in Elite Eight? (March 31) 

USC Trojans forward Kiki Iriafen was not able to bounce back after her lowly Sweet 16 outing during her team's Elite Eight matchup. On Monday, the top-seeded Trojans faced off against the second seed of Spokane Regional 4, the UConn Huskies. They subsequently lost by 14 points, 78-64, and are now eliminated from the 2025 national tournament.

Playing all 40 minutes of the hotly-contested game, Iriafen had 10 points on an abysmal 3-of-15 overall shooting, but was perfect from the foul line with four made, to go along with six rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Iriafen made her first score at the 7:51 mark of the first quarter, momentarily setting the tone for her team, which was playing without sophomore star JuJu Watkins. She then followed it up with back-to-back jumpers, through which she no longer made any more field goals for the fixture. Despite USC's early charge, the Huskies eventually bounced back to lead by three at the end of one, 14-11.

Throughout the second quarter, Iriafen could not produce much on the statsheet, but she was a defensive presence for the Lindsay Gottlieb-coached squad. The senior's first tally in the statsheet then came with a rebound and then an assist at the 2:41 mark. Even with her trying to hold down the fort down low, UConn started to pull away to the tune of a 14-point edge, 39-25.

To open the second half, Iriafen went back in the paint to secure boards for her team. But, throughout the third frame, the fourth-year stalwart struggled to put points on the board as she was constantly met up top by her opponents. This is what the Trojans needed, as the Huskies continued to maintain their lead. Finally, Iriafen scored at the charity stripe, but her team still trailed, 51-46.

Iriafen and Co. managed to bring their deficit down to single digits heading into the layover quarter, but UConn kept their foot on the gas as USC could not keep up. Once again, the Stanford Cardinal transferee could not buy a bucket with her teammates shouldering the scoring load. She capped her night off with a couple more free throws, but the Huskies still won convincingly, 78-64.

Here are Kiki Iriafen's final stats for the loss on Monday:

Player	MP	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG	3-PT	FT	TO	PF
Kiki Iriafen	40	10	6	1	1	0	3-15	0-0	4-4	2	3

USC Trojans lose in consecutive Elite Eights, still on an almost four-decade-long NCAA Final Four drought

The USC Trojans, after the 2025 Elite Eight defeat, have now lost in consecutive Elite Eights to the UConn Huskies. They also succumbed to the Geno Auriemma-coached program in the 2023-2024 campaign, and have yet to reach the NCAA Final Four since 1986, finishing the 2024-2025 season with a 31-4 overall record, 17-1 during conference play.

For Kiki Iriafen, she is considered a lottery pick in the 2025 WNBA draft after extinguishing her college hoops eligibility, leaving it all on the floor in her senior campaign. On the season, she averaged 18.2 points, 8.4 boards and 1.9 assists per game in her first stint under Lindsay Gottlieb's team.