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South Carolina women's basketball: The 3-2-1 - Clutch players, burning questions, and a favorite play

On3 imageby:Chris Wellbaum01/29/25

ChrisWellbaum

Chloe Kitts (Photo by Katie Dugan)
Chloe Kitts (Photo by Katie Dugan)

We look back at the clutch players, burning questions, and my favorite play from South Carolina women’s basketball’s busy weekend.

Three Clutch Players

1. Joyce Edwards
Vs LSU: 22 minutes, 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 fouls drawn
Vs Tennessee: 29 minutes, 18 points, 5 rebounds

Edwards struggled with foul trouble against LSU but still led the Gamecocks in scoring. Then she was spectacular against Tennessee when the Gamecocks leaned on her in the post to score whenever the Lady Vols went on a run. The only concern: Edwards entered the week shooting over 80% from the foul line but hit just 6-13 in the two games.

2. Raven Johnson
Vs LSU: 28 minutes, 5 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 5 steals
Vs Tennessee: 28 minutes, 10 points, 5 rebounds, assist

Johnson played really good defense in both games, tying her career-high with five steals against LSU. She filled up the box score, doing whatever South Carolina needed in that game. Against LSU, it was setting up her teammates. Against Tennessee, she was more of a scorer and chased down rebounds.

3. Chloe Kitts
Vs LSU: 24 minutes, 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, 4 fouls drawn
Vs Tennessee: 22 minutes, 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks

Kitts did not shoot well against LSU but still managed seven points and tied for the team-high with seven rebounds. She led the Gamecocks in rebounding again at Tennessee and scored 10 points, including her second three of the season.

[Win tickets: South Carolina-Auburn WBB]

Two Burning Questions

1. Can South Carolina maintain this level of focus?
Dawn Staley has said several times that the Gamecocks practice and play better when the opponent has a number in front of their name. The back half of the SEC schedule is not as – shall we say sexy? – as the front half. There are still some ranked foes, but it’s a different kind of grind that tests focus.

2. Can MiLaysia Fulwiley eliminate the bad decisions?
Two weeks ago, Fulwiley was playing some of the best basketball of her career. Last weekend, she was a liability. Fulwiley shot just 2-11 against LSU and then 4-11 with four fouls in less than 10 minutes against Tennessee. Her ill-advised threes against Tennessee helped the Lady Vols come back from a 20-point deficit. Fulwiley did score eight and 11 points to provide a nice scoring spark, but the negatives outweighed the positives.

One Favorite Play

Te-Hina Paopao’s no-look pass to Tessa Johnson for three was considered. As was Johnson’s block on a layup that she followed with a layup on the other end. But I had to go with this sequence that was the heart of the 8-0 run that basically won the game against LSU.  

It starts with Sania Feagin, the starting center, mind you, running the break and setting up point guard Raven Johnson for an alley-oop, and in a flash, ends with a steal and layup by Johnson. As tight as the game was, that made the difference.

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