No. 3 South Carolina women hold off No. 8 Duke 81-70 for 62nd straight home win
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Chloe Kitts tied her career high with 21 points to go with 11 rebounds as No. 3 South Carolina held off a late charge by No. 8 Duke for an 81-70 victory Thursday night in the SEC/ACC Challenge, the 62nd straight home win for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina (8-1) built a 25-point lead in the second half, but the Blue Devils (8-2) trimmed it to 71-63 with 6:10 left. Kitts followed with a basket inside and a three-point play to restore the double-digit advantage, and Duke could not get any closer.
The Gamecocks continued a home winning streak that began in December 2020 after their last loss at Colonial Life Arena to N.C. State.
It was the third double-double of the season for Kitts and the ninth of her career as South Carolina won its third in a row, two over ranked opponents, since losing at No. 1 UCLA on Nov. 24.
Tania Mair and Delaney Thomas had 14 points apiece to lead Duke.
Notables
- The win was a full team effort, with all 10 Gamecocks who entered the game scoring at least three points.
- The South Carolina defense was strong, holding Duke to just five points early in the first quarter and finished with 13 steals and eight blocks as a team, both the second-highest this season.
- Chloe Kitts led the team in scoring for the third time this season with a career-high tying 21 points, also nabbing her third double-double with 11 boards. Nine of her points came in the final quarter, with seven straight helping the Gamecocks hold their 10-point lead.
- Sania Feagin finished in double figures for the third time this season, going 3-for-3 from the floor and 5-for-6 at the free-throw line to nab 11 points and dishing out two blocks and two steals.
- Te-Hina Paopao collected 11 points with six coming in the opening quarter after going a perfect 2-for-2 behind the arc as part of a 20-6 run.
- Joyce Edwards had a massive second quarter, scoring all eight of her points in just six minutes on the floor after going 3-for-3 from the floor and 2-for-2 at the line and grabbing two of her team-high three steals.
- Raven Johnson hit a huge three in the first quarter to extend the Gamecocks’ lead by nine then finished with a team and season-high four assists.
