PARIS (AP) — Kiki Iriafen made a pair of free throws with seconds remaining to lift the No. 3 USC women’s basketball team over Mississippi 68-66 on Monday in a season-opening doubleheader in France.
The score was tied 66-66 with 10 seconds left when Iriafen — an Associated Press preseason All-America selection — hit her two free throws.
Iriafen finished with 22 points while teammate JuJu Watkins led the way for USC with 27 points.
K.K. Deans scored 19 points for No. 20 Ole Miss. Madison Scott added 14.
With a little under two minutes left, Deans made a jump shot from near halfway to put Ole Miss ahead 66-64.
The 8,000-capacity Adidas Arena, home to the men’s Paris Basketball team, was about half full.
The Trojans gave the ball away too often and were sloppy in defense at times, too often leaving Mississippi wide open from 3-point range.
Mississippi rallied from several deficits and trailed by 11 at halftime. They outscored USC 40-31 in the second half.
Ole Miss was 7 of 23 from 3-point range, while USC was only 1 of 11.
USC takes on Cal Poly at the Galen Center on Saturday.
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