South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley will lead her team against Maryland on Friday in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen in Birmingham, Alabama. The 1-seed vs. 4-seed matchup should be a good one. The winner will take on the North Carolina-Duke victor in the Elite Eight on Sunday or Monday.

The teams have been in Birmingham practicing and speaking to the press ahead of their date in the Dance.

During her media availability on Thursday, Maryland star Shyanne Sellers was particularly complimentary of the Gamecock frontcourt. “I know people like to talk about, you know, missing Kamilla (Cardoso) and Aliyah (Boston), but I think Sania (Feagin), Chloe (Kitts), and Joyce (Edwards) have done a great job of stepping up to the plate,” she said. “So, you know, I think they’ve gotten disrespected a lot. I think they’ve stepped up and knocked it out of the park. It’s just going to be a battle of wills at this point.”

South Carolina women’s basketball forwards Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin. Photo by: Katie Dugan | GamecockCentral

Sellers, a long-time starter for the Terps, knows what she’s talking about. She has played against the Gamecocks four times in her career, all USC wins. Boston was on the first three of those teams, while Cardoso was on the final three. They overlapped for two games in the 2022-2023 season.

The All-BIG Ten guard knows just how good those post players were for South Carolina and understands that the team’s current crop of bigs can get the job done, too. Last season, Kitts and Feagin combined for 21 points and 16 rebounds against Maryland. Sellers hasn’t played against Edwards yet, but the former 5-star prospect has had a strong debut for the Gamecocks.

Edwards has had a tremendous freshman season in which she earned first-team All-SEC honors. Both Kitts and Feagin have played their best ball of late, earning honorable mention All-America and SEC All-Defensive team selections, respectively.

For the season, the trio is averaging 31.4 points and 17.3 rebounds, while all shooting better than 50%. Edwards has been the Gamecocks’ most consistent scorer, logging double-digit outputs in 25 contests. Kitts is the squad’s leading rebounder who has chipped in with nine double-doubles and a triple-double while coming into her own as a tertiary playmaker from the high post. Feagin has stepped up as the team’s top post defender since Ashlyn Watkins went down with a torn ACL in January.

Fellow bigs Maryam Dauda, Adhel Tac, and Sakima Walker could see some action against Maryland, too. However, Edwards, Kitts, and Feagin have been the first three posts in the rotation.

If Dawn Staley’s team is to continue their title defense into the Elite Eight (or even further), Edwards, Kitts, and Feagin will be counted upon to play major roles.

South Carolina and Maryland will tip off at 5:00 p.m. on Friday in Birmingham. ESPN will broadcast the contest, while the ESPN app makes it available via streaming.