Dawn Staley delivers good news on Kierra Fletcher’s injury outlook for postseason
South Carolina starting point guard Kierra Fletcher missed Sunday’s SEC tournament championship game against Tennessee with a left ankle injury.
But she won’t miss the NCAA tournament.
Coach Dawn Staley confirmed in her postgame news conference that Fletcher, a Georgia Tech transfer who twisted her ankle in the first quarter of Saturday’s SEC semifinal, is expected to be good to go for the Gamecocks’ opening NCAA tournament game on either March 17 or 18 in Columbia.
Staley said Fletcher was moving around well during pregame shootaround and could’ve played if absolutely necessary, but USC’s staff didn’t want to risk her short-term health with a more important postseason looming.
“I don’t know if we win a national championship without her,” Staley said, adding that Fletcher will focus on rehab during the school’s upcoming spring break.
Fletcher had started 29 of 31 games for South Carolina (32-0) while averaging 4.6 points per game before missing Sunday’s game. The fifth-year senior had a season-high 15 points in a Feb. 23 win at Tennessee.
Fletcher exited Saturday’s game against Ole Miss in the first quarter with an ankle injury and went to the locker room. She briefly re-entered the game in the second quarter but did not play in the entire second half.
Redshirt freshman guard Raven Johnson started in place of Fletcher during Sunday’s 74-58 win over Tennessee at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. It was the first game Fletcher’s missed all year. Johnson played a season-high 38 minutes and finished with 3 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 turnovers in the win.
“I just told her we have enough in the room,” Staley said of her conversations with Fletcher. “They’re not going to allow this opportunity to slip away. They’re going to win it for you, so rest assured.”
“I know that you can’t play, but you keep the bigger picture in mind. If we’re so fortunate enough to come back here to win our first and second round and come back here (to Greenville for a regional), you will get an opportunity to do it on the biggest stage.”
Zia Cooke, South Carolina’s other starting guard, poured in a game-high 24 points as South Carolina won its seventh SEC tournament championship in school history, with all seven coming across the last nine seasons under Staley.
No. 1 USC also swept the conference’s regular season and postseason titles for the fifth time in school history. ESPN’s latest round of NCAA bracketology has the Gamecocks, who are going for a second consecutive national championship, as the No. 1 overall seed in the bracket.
Key postseason dates for South Carolina WBB
March 12: Selection Sunday, 8 p.m (ESPN)
March 15-16: First Four games
March 17-20: NCAA tournament first and second rounds
March 24-27: Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games
March 31: Final Four
April 2: National championship game in Dallas
This story was originally published March 5, 2023 at 6:41 PM.
