#3 South Carolina blitzed #8 Duke to start the game and got a career-high 21 points from Chloe Kitts to hold off a late rally for an 81-70 win on Thursday night.
South Carolina led by almost 20 for most of the second and third quarters but had to sweat out the win after a 10-0 Duke run early in the fourth quarter.
South Carolina had its second unit on the court as Duke cut the lead to 69-61 After a timeout, Dawn Staley put the starters back in and Chloe Kitts went to work. She scored seven straight points for the Gamecocks and nine of the next 10.
“My teammates kept finding me and coach had ran a play a couple of times for me,” Kitts said. “They just kept telling me to keep attacking.
“That was all (Raven Johnson),” Staley said. “Ray called it in the first half and when we needed a bucket she went back to it and kept going back to it. Chloe delivered. She was due for a good one.”
Kitts finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. She tied her career high for points and registered her third double-double of the season.
“She was hot,” Te-Hina Paopao said. “That’s what it was. Gotta feed the hot hand.”
Duke scored first and the Blue Devils briefly held a 4-2 lead. Then Bree Hall hit a three to give South Carolina the lead and the Gamecocks went on a 10-0 run.
“They got wide-open threes,” Kara Lawson said. “That was not the game plan, in case you were wondering.”
South Carolina added 6-0 and 7-0 runs to lead by as much as 18 in the first quarter. Duke cut into the lead in the second quarter, but Joyce Edwards scored six points during an 8-0 run that put South Carolina up by 21.
“We didn’t start the game as we hoped and we just spent the game trying to fight out of the hole,” Lawson said. “The hole was a little too deep with a team of that quality.”
Kitts led a balanced scoring effort from South Carolina. All ten Gamecocks that played also scored. Sania Feagin and Te-Hina Paoapo each had 11 points. Freshmen Edwards and Maddy McDaniel had eight and seven points off the bench, respectively.
South Carolina didn’t make a field over the last 4:12 of the game, but still shot 57.4% and 5-10 from three. Duke shot 50% in the fourth quarter but only 44.8% for the game.
Delaney Thomas and Taina Mair each had 14 points to lead Duke.
Notes:
South Carolina held its annual Teddy Bear Toss on Thursday. There was also a blanket drive. … New athletics director Jeremiah Donati addressed the crowd before the game. President Michael Amiridis started the “Game-Cock” cheer. … Former Gamecock Aliyah Boston sat courtside. She spoke to the crowd at the media timeout in the third quarter, introducing a new commercial for Experience Columbia. … Kitts seems to like playing against Duke. She had 14 points and nine rebounds last season in Durham. She wore a Collin Murray-Boyles hoodie postgame. … South Carolina was 14-19 from the line. … Duke outrebounded South Carolina by seven in the second half and five for the game. … Duke’s leading scorer Reigan Richardson only played one minute in the first quarter and finished with three points on 1-8 shooting. MiLaysia Fulwiley had three points on 1-7 shooting. … South Carolina had 16 fast break points, but only two came in the second half. … Dawn Staley’s outfit: Staley wore a dark gray Louis Vuitton sweater over a white t-shirt. … Announced attendance was 15,677. … South Carolina’s next game is Sunday against TCU in Fort Worth.
