South Carolina Gamecocks standout Chloe Kitts offered a thoughtful answer about the pressure of playing for such a great program.

Mar 31, 2024; Albany, NY, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks forward Chloe Kitts (21) reacts to a play against the Oregon State Beavers during the second half in the finals of the Albany Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at MVP Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The two NCAA National Championships the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team has produced in the past three seasons put the entire program under a microscope.

According to head coach Dawn Staley, this has prompted what she calls “South Carolina fatigue”, which is essentially her way of saying that the women’s college basketball community is sick of seeing her team win.

Regardless of whether this is true, there’s no question that the Gamecocks are under a lot of pressure to perform. And junior forward Chloe Kitts got honest about how she deals with this pressure during a March 10 Q&A article with WSLAM.

“You have to realize that you go through highs and lows. Everyone goes through highs and lows. You might have a good stretch of games, you might have a horrible stretch of games,” Kitts said when asked how she keeps her composure throughout a pressure-packed season.

“You just have to find a healthy balance and know that everything’s gonna be OK. That’s for me, especially because you can’t get too high with the highs [and] too low with the lows. Just try your hardest to stay consistent,” she added.

When posed this same question about pressure, Gamecocks sophomore MiLaysia Fulwiley said, “I agree. When you’re playing basketball, it’s a mental thing, and if your mental is not there, then your game, your play, isn’t going to be there. I feel like it’s very important for all of us to keep our mental together.

“Just always remember that the main goal is winning a national championship, and you win some, you lose some, but we just all need to be locked in on that one goal. And I feel like that’s what keeps us together and keeps us able to get through the pressure.”

Given their abundance of basketball talent, the Gamecocks’ roster having unrelenting mental strength would make them nearly impossible to beat.

Dawn Staley Could Only Laugh After Star Player Accidentally Gave Away Play Call

Chloe Kitts was a little to open while speaking with reporters after a win over Vanderbilt.

Dawn Staley and Chloe Kitts speak to reporters after win over Vanderbilt. / South Carolina Gamecocks / YouTube

The South Carolina Gamecocks started their run through the SEC tournament strong on Friday with a dominant 84–63 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores in the quarterfinals.

Leading the way for the Gamecocks was forward Chloe Kitts, who put up 25 points on 12-of-14 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. 11 of those points came in the fourth quarter, where South Carolina put the game away for good.

After the game, Kitts was one of two players alongside head coach Dawn Staley while speaking with reporters. Asked of her big night, Kitts opened up—maybe a little too much.

“I was just going out there and playing confident,” Kitts said. “My coaches and the point guard kept saying ‘14,’ which is kind of, get the ball to me, and I just delivered.”

At that point, Kitts received a bit of side-eye from Staley, who light-heartedly critiqued her player for so openly letting out a play call. Both Kitts and Staley made faces that eventually broke into smiles, earning laughs from the reporters collected.

South Carolina would go on to another win in the semifinals and jump out to a big lead over Texas in the SEC tournament championship, and look poised to once again be among the top seeds when the NCAA Women’s Tournament bracket is revealed as they look to defend their title.