WBB senior spotlight: Kierra Fletcher
Sunday afternoon South Carolina will honor arguably its best senior class in program history, hosting senior day ceremonies for a class that includes Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal and others.
But there are a few others who will get their flowers in front of a raucous, sold-out Colonial Life Arena.
As GamecockCentral continues its senior spotlights, the final one comes for someone who only spent one season at South Carolina but was a key piece to this year’s team: Kierra Fletcher.
[Become a “FAM” Member, support USC women’s basketball]
Bio
Following an impactful four years with Georgia Tech, Kierra Fletcher transferred to South Carolina ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Fletcher, who scored over 1,000 points for the Yellow Jackets, has settled into a distributor role for the Gamecocks but is always a threat to knock down shots from the midrange. Fletcher earned All-ACC Freshman Team honors in her first season in Georgia’s capital city and the graduate transfer guard has delivered throughout year one in Columbia.
[Subscribe to Gamecock Central until Aug. 31 for only $29.99!]
Career stats: 141 games, 8.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals
South Carolina stats: 28 games, 4.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals
Career highlights: 12 points, 10 rebounds against UCLA; nine points and five assists against Auburn; six points, five rebounds and three blocks against Vanderbilt, 15 points and three assists at Tennessee
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Phil Longo Fired
Wisconsin announces firing of OC
- 2
AP Poll Shakeup
New Top 25 shows big fallout from Saturday
- 3
JuJu Lewis
Elite QB decommits from USC
- 4New
5-star QB flip
Texas A&M commit Husan Longstreet flips to USC
- 5
Coaches Poll
Big changes to updated Top 25
Best moment(s): Fletcher stuffed the stat sheet with six points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals in a road win against South Dakota State. Her big day against Tennessee is also a big reason the Gamecocks clinched the regular season title in Knoxville.
[Get South Carolina women’s basketball news via email]
“I think she’s getting more and more comfortable running our team and finding her spots. She scored a lot of points with Georgia Tech and she needs to add some of that to what we’re already doing,” Dawn Staley said Thursday. “I think she has an understanding of what we want and she has to pick and choose her spots to be aggressive offensively. She was just in a good rhythm. When she’s in a good rhythm we try and play her as much as possible.”
Legacy
This season Fletcher stepped into the point guard void left by WNBA guard Destanni Henderson providing a poised veteran presence on the ball. She is on the verge of a 2-1 assist-to-turnover ratio since joining the Gamecocks in the offseason.
In addition to offensive stability in the backcourt, Fletcher has proven herself as one of South Carolina’s best perimeter defenders. Her story with South Carolina is still being written, with the biggest games of her debut season upcoming. The 2023 SEC and NCAA tournaments will provide Fletcher the platform to elevate her year in garnet and black into Gamecock history.
