Top 10 battle: No. 3 South Carolina WBB upends No. 8 Duke. Three things we learned
If there was any doubt about what kind of team South Carolina is, it was wiped away Thursday.
In another impressive showing against a ranked team, No. 3 South Carolina defeated No. 8 Duke 81-70 at Colonial Life Arena in the SEC/ACC Challenge. USC ended Duke’s six-game winning streak, which included two wins over top 10 teams.
The Gamecocks (8-1) dominated most of the game, but the Blue Devils made plenty of runs to stay in it. A 13-1 run to start the fourth quarter had Duke within single digits with six minutes remaining.
“I think the group that we had in probably played a little bit too long, and I just tried to give them an opportunity,” USC head coach Dawn Staley said. “... Bad shots, bad decisions, bad defense. And then we really couldn’t keep them in that much longer.”
USC raced to a commanding 28-12 lead in the first quarter. That 16-point gap marked Duke’s largest deficit of the season. And it only got bigger as USC led by 25 at one point in the third quarter.
The Blue Devils (8-2) trimmed the lead to 12 with a 9-2 run midway through the second quarter. But USC countered with a 10-2 run just before the end of the half, heading to the locker room with a 51-31 advantage.
Junior Chloe Kitts led the way for the Gamecocks with her third double-double of the year. She tied her career high with 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Senior Te-Hina Paopao added 11 points, while senior Sania Feagin also chipped in 11 points.
Junior Taina Mair filled the box score for the Blue Devils with 14 points, four assists, four rebounds and four steals. Sophomore Delaney Thomas went 7 of 7 from the field for 14 points and three steals. Sophomore Oluchi Okananwa had 12 points and seven rebounds.
South Carolina has won 62 straight games at home. The Gamecocks now sets their sights on another top-10 clash as it hits the road to face No. 9 TCU on Sunday.
Here are three observations from South Carolina’s win on Thursday:
Chloe Kitts’ heroics
When Duke trimmed USC’s lead to single digits with less than seven minutes remaining, it was Kitts who stepped up to seal the game away. She scored seven-straight Gamecock points to extend the lead to 13.
To stop the run, the message to the team was simple, Paopao said.
“We said, give the ball to Chloe,” she joked.
Staley said Kitts told her Wednesday that she felt Staley didn’t believe in her. Staley was confused at the notion, but attributed Kitts’ feelings to her reduced minutes during the games around Thanksgiving.
Kitts played 11, 14 and 15 minutes during the three games at the end of November, down from her average of nearly 23 minutes in the first four games. That was just due to the blowout wins and her shot selection at times, Staley said.
“You may look at it as I don’t believe in her,” Staley said. “She did take some bad shots over Thanksgiving, and I took her out because of it.”
Kitts responded against Duke. She had eight points and eight rebounds in the first half alone.
“Chloe wants it bad — sometimes it works for her, sometimes it works against her. Today it worked for her,” Staley said.
Staley was much more pleased with Kitts’ shot selection Thursday, and said it’s essential to the rest of the offense for her to play well.
Knocking down the 3s
USC started hot from deep, nailing 4 of 5 triples in the opening quarter to fuel their 28-10 lead. Paopao, Hall and Raven Johnson all connected from beyond the arc to ignite the Gamecock offense. USC finished 5 of 10 from deep.
Paopao said it was just due to playing at home for the first time in awhile, and the team felt good about their shots in shootaround.
It’s a welcome sight for Johnson to start making her shots. After starting the season 0 for 13 from 3-point range, she’s turned things around, going 5 for 12 in her last four games, including a confident 1 for 2 against Duke.
Lockdown defense
The Gamecocks’ relentless defense set the tone, holding Duke to 5 of 16 shooting in the first quarter.
When the Blue Devils made a push to trim the lead in the second quarter, USC cranked up the pressure, forcing three straight turnovers — including a couple before Duke even crossed half-court. The resulting 8-0 run snuffed out any chance of a comeback before the break.
USC turned 18 turnovers into 23 points.
That’s been the formula all season for the Gamecocks: lockdown defense, regardless of what the offense is looking like. It only helped that the offense got going against Duke as well.
Next four games
- Sunday: at TCU, 7 p.m. on ESPN2
- Dec. 15: vs. South Florida, 2 p.m. on SEC Network
- Dec. 19: vs. Charleston Southern, 6 p.m. on SEC Network Plus
- Dec. 29: vs. Wofford, 2 p.m. on SEC Network
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 10:54 PM.
