Boxer Chandni Mehra

Aaliyah Gayles is the joyous spirit behind USC’s rise to a No. 1 seed in women’s NCAA Tournament

As JuJu Watkins and the rest of Southern California’s starting lineup is introduced, each player stops in front of Aaliyah Gayles. The reserve guard then goes through a series of fistbumps, handshakes and courtesy bows with her teammates that end with them smiling and fired up to take down the opponent.