South Carolina women’s basketball forward Chloe Kitts (Photo by Grace Sorrells)

On Tuesday, the USBWA (United States Basketball Writers Association) announced that South Carolina women’s basketball junior forward Chloe Kitts was one of its national players of the week. The honor comes following Kitts’ SEC co-Player of the Week selection on Monday. Last week, Gamecock guard MiLaysia Fulwiley made the USBWA’s group of players of the week.

Kitts was joined on this week’s team by Iowa State’s Audi Crooks, Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers, West Virginia’s JJ Quinerly, and Southern Cal’s JuJu Watkins.

Kitts’ selection to the weekly team is not surprising. For the week, she averaged 14 points, 11.5 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 50% from the field. The 6’2″ Florida native also logged just the ninth triple-double in South Carolina program history last week against Ole Miss. She followed that up with a strong double-double in a closer-than-expected contest against Kentucky. USC won both games to earn a share of the 2024-2025 SEC regular season championship.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball forward Chloe Kitts was named one of the USBWA National Players of the Week today for her historic triple-double and contributions to the Gamecocks’ two wins that clinched a share of the SEC Regular-Season Championship.

Kitts averaged a double-double for the week with 14.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. She opened the week with a triple-double at Ole Miss (16 pts, 13 rebs, 10 assts), becoming just the second Gamecock to post a triple-double in an SEC game. She posted nine points, seven rebounds and six assists in just 16 minutes of first-half action. After halftime, she scored five straight to open an 11-3 run early in the third quarter after the Rebels had cut their deficit to two points. Her stat line also included a career-high four steals.

In Sunday’s season finale, Kitts picked up another double-double with 12 points and 10 boards against #15/14 Kentucky. She led the offense in the second quarter with six points to help the Gamecocks take an eight-point lead into halftime. She added four points, four rebounds and a blocked shot in the 13-2 run that closed the game and turned a one-point margin into a 12-point victory.

The other USBWA National Players of the Week were Audi Crooks (Iowa State), JJ Quinerly (West Virginia), Shyanne Sellers (Maryland) and JuJu Watkins (Southern Cal).

No. 5/5 South Carolina heads to Greenville, S.C., for the SEC Tournament later this week. The Gamecocks drew the No. 1 seed at the event for the fourth straight season and will open play in the quarterfinals on Fri., March 7, at noon on ESPN.

Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the most up-to-date information on the women’s basketball season.

South Carolina women’s basketball’s place in ESPN’s updated bracketology

South Carolina women’s basketball senior Sania Feagin (Photo by Katie Dugan)

South Carolina women’s basketball has earned a 1-seed in every NCAA Tournament in the last five years. They also would have picked up another at the end of the 2020-2021 season, but that season was Covid-shortened. This year, the Gamecocks have a chance to do it again, though, the choice isn’t as cut-and-dry as previous seasons.

For now, ESPN’s Charlie Creme believes Dawn Staley’s team is deserving of a 1-seed. In his updated bracketology, Creme lists the Gamecocks as his final No. 1, meaning USC is his No. 4 overall seed. As things stand, Carolina joins the Texas Longhorns, Southern Cal Trojans, and UCLA Bruins as 1-seeds. The UConn Huskies, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, LSU Tigers, and NC State Wolfpack hold the 2-line. Both UConn and Notre Dame have realistic shots at 1-seeds if a few things bounce their way this week.

In Creme’s current projection, South Carolina is one of the 1-seeds in Birmingham, Alabama. If the bracketology proved to be 100% accurate, the Gamecocks would have the UConn Huskies as their top competition in the regional. Other strong teams like the Duke Blue Devils, Kansas State Wildcats, Maryland Terrapins, and Iowa Hawkeyes also were included in USC’s side of Birmingham.

Creme’s bracketology makes sure to acknowledge that Conference Championship Week could change everything. If South Carolina wins the SEC Tournament, they all but lock in a 1-seed. If the Gamecocks lose, though, a 2-seed might be more likely, pending the results of other conference tourneys.

South Carolina will not play at the SEC Tournament until Friday. The Gamecocks earned a double-bye in Greenville and, because of the conference’s coin flip tiebreaker, are the No. 1 seed. They will play either the Texas A&M Aggies, Tennessee Lady Volunteers, or Vanderbilt Commodores in the quarterfinals. ESPN will air the Friday contest at Noon, while the ESPN app makes it available via streaming.