The South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team opened their postseason by securing an 84-63 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
Leading the charge was South Carolina star Chloe Kitts, securing 25 points, shooting 12-of-14. She also contributing 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block in 29 minutes of action. Head coach Dawn Staley emphasized Kitts' stellar performance in her post game interview.
Chloe Kitts on dropping a career-high 25 points along with 10 rebonds to open up the SEC Tournament:
— Chaz R Frazier (@Chazf_tv) March 7, 2025
"I just wanted to win so bad, so I was just being aggressive."@abc_columbia pic.twitter.com/fqhYzzqeMh
"This is really who Chloe is," Staley said, per an X post from Chaz R. Frazier of ABC Columbia. "[She's] starting to play very consistent basketball. She wants the ball in her hands, she wants to be a playmaker, she wants to be the one that can score it or dish it to a teammate. I thought her teammates did a really good job at finding her, I thought she did a really good job of just making a play."
"This is really who Chole is... We called her number and she delivered for us."
— Chaz R Frazier (@Chazf_tv) March 7, 2025
High praise from #Gamecock HC Dawn Staley on Chloe Kitts who scored a career-high 25 points with 10 rebounds.@abc_columbia pic.twitter.com/saQzo8JeCY
Staley continued, "We called her number and she delivered for us. I would imagine this is how she envisioned her entire season going, but it didn’t go that way. It was a little bit up and down, inconsistent. But Chloe is strong enough mentally and physically to handle the rigors of this league."
She followed it up by saying, "No one's going to dominate every single night. But if you don’t have the mental fortitude to push through the ups and downs, you won’t see consistent play like this at any point in the season."