CNN — 

University of Southern California’s star sophmore guard JuJu Watkins threw her head back in agony as she was lifted off the hardwood and carried from the court during the top-seeded Trojans’ second round game against Mississippi State in the women’s NCAA basketball tournament Monday.

Watkins, a contender for national player of the year honors, was taking the ball up the court on a fast break midway through the first quarter when she collided with Bulldogs’ senior guard Chandler Prater. Watkins’ right knee buckled awkwardly and she went down hard to the ground, immediately clutching her knee.

The raucous fans at the Galen Center in Los Angeles fell quiet as team medical staff ran onto the court to attend to Watkins and her teammates surrounded their fallen star.

After being attended to for more than a minute, the Trojans trainers, carefully cradling Watkins’ right leg, lifted her completely off the ground and carried her off the court to a mixture of groans and clapping from the USC home crowd.

Watkins left the game with 4:43 remaining in the first quarter, having scored three points in the early minutes of the contest.

Continuing without their scoring and assists leader, the Trojans have a comfortable lead against the Bulldogs as the game reached halftime.

This is a developing story and will be updated.