No. 1 seed South Carolina women blow past Presbyterian 91-39 to begin March Madness run
AP/COLUMBIA, S.C. Before the NCAA Tournament, Chloe Kitts sought to boost her self-esteem. She probably made all of the people who predicted that South Carolina would win extremely happy in the future.
Kitts tied her career high with 21 points on 9-of-9 shooting with a game-high 13 rebounds as the No. 1 overall seed Gamecocks blew past Presbyterian 91-39 on Friday to begin their March Madness run.
The 6-foot, lanky Kitts has started every game this season, but in the last four games, her scoring output has decreased to a total of 22 points. Unafraid to make direct eye contact, she discovered her game against the Blue Hose.
Regarding her performance, which tied her greatest scoring record set in a victory over Bowling Green earlier this year, Kitts stated, “I felt like it was vital for my confidence.” “My teammates simply found me and passed the ball to me,
Kitts helped a team that was without Bree Hall and Kamilla Cardoso, two starters. After being ejected for fighting during the last game of the SEC Tournament finals on March 10, Cardoso was given a one-game ban. Coach Dawn Staley stated that Hall was left out as a precaution.
Staley explained, “We just felt that we had enough heading into this game to win the game.” Tomorrow, we will see how she feels.
Regarding Kitts, according to Staley, she stepped up when her team needed her.
The Gamecocks (33-0) defeated the Big South Conference’s Blue Hose (21-15) for the second time this season, putting them five victories away from their tenth consecutive title season. On Sunday, there will be another rematch against North Carolina, the eighth seed. The Tar Heels defeated Michigan State, the ninth seed, earlier Friday after giving up
Under head coach Dawn Staley, South Carolina went 12-0 in their NCAA Tournament opening games with 18 points from Te-Hina Paopao and 17 from rookie MiLaysia Fulwiley.
Expected to return against the Tar Heels is the 6-foot-7 Cardoso, who was ejected in the SEC playoffs for pushing Flau’jae Johnson of LSU to the ground late in the Gamecocks’ 79-72 victory.
When South Carolina trounced the future Big South Tournament champions, Presbyterian, 99-29, on December 16, it did so nearly as quickly.
