HC Lindsay Gottlieb proudly cheers for Kiki Iriafen and Rayah Marshall ahead of ex-USC teammates’ WNBA face-off: “This is everything”

USC Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb has had many great players come through her program over the years. She had two players selected in the 2025 WNBA draft. Kiki Iriafen was drafted with the fourth pick in the first round by the Washington Mystics. Rayah Marshall was selected by the Connecticut Sun in the second round.

While Iriafen made her WNBA debut on Friday in a game against the Atlanta Dream, the Sun did not start their game until Sunday. The Mystics and Suns played on Sunday afternoon in a battle between two former USC teammates. While watching the game, Gottlieb shared a post made by the USC women’s basketball account with a heartwarming caption.

“From kids in LA to teammates at SC to facing off in the W. This is everything!”

The game between the Mystics and Sun tipped off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. Iriafen headed into the game looking to continue a good start to her WNBA career. In her professional debut on Friday, she registered 14 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Rayan Marshall was hoping to have an impact on the game in any way she could. While Iriafen was given an immediate starting job as a top pick in the draft, Marshall did not get that luxury. As a second-round pick, she joins the team as a depth piece. She is unlikely to play a significant role on the team this season and will need to impress the coaching staff to earn her spot.

Lindsay Gottlieb works to replace Kiki Iriafen and Rayah Marshall at USC

While Lindsay Gottlieb is happy to watch her former players succeed at the professional level, she also needs to worry about the future of the Trojans. Iriafen and Marshall were two of the top players on the team last season, and as a result, they need to be replaced.

Fortunately, Gottlieb has been working hard and has secured the commitments from a few top transfers. Most recently, she secured the commitment of Washington State transfer Dayanna Mendes. Mendes committed to the Trojans in late April after one season with the Cougars.

She had a strong freshman year, averaging 8.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Gottlieb had previously added a few other top transfers in the portal, including Georgia Tech guard Kara Dunn and UCLA guard Londynn Jones. It will be interesting to see how these three players fit into Gottlieb’s system at USC.

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Alexander O’Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex’s favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex’s favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex’s proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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