Kitts' First career double-double leads No. 6 South Carolina to 114-76 win over No. 14 Maryland

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Chloe Kitts had career-highs of 13 points and 10 rebounds and helped fuel a game-changing 17-4 burst right before halftime as No. 6 South Carolina posted its most points ever against a ranked opponent, running past No. 14 Maryland 114-76 on Sunday.

Kitts, who joined the program as a freshman midway through last season, got her first college double-double in front of her former teammates, “The Freshies:” Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke and Brea Beal, who were on hand to receive their Final Four rings from a year ago.

Sophomore Ashlyn Watkins added 13 points, 11 rebounds and five of South Carolina’s 10 blocks. Te-Hina Paopao, an Oregon transfer, had 14 points.

South Carolina (2-0) had seven players in double figures and showed that this latest group is trending in the direction of their national champion predecessors, with its second dominant victory over a ranked team after beating No. 10 Notre Dame 100-71 last Monday in Paris.

Watkins, a reserve last season who became the team’s first-ever player to dunk in a game, posted her third career double-double.

It was the fifth straight loss to the Gamecocks for Maryland (1-1), a run of disappointment that included an 86-75 defeat in the Elite Eight last season. The Terps had not given up 100 points in almost 21 years.

Shyanne Sellers led the Terps with 21 points.

NOTABLES 

• South Carolina’s 114-76 victory over the Terrapins marked the most points scored against a ranked opponent in program history (previously 104 against #15 Arkansas, 1/18/21), and the largest margin of victory (38) since defeating #16 Clemson by 34 (89-55) in 3/1/80.
• Seeing Double: Seven Gamecocks finished in double-digits, with two nabbing double-doubles on the day (Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins). The seven were the most since South Carolina had six against ETSU in 2022 (Nov. 7).
• The Gamecocks saw a total of 11 scorers, with nine shooting at 50% or better on the day.
• South Carolina proved its depth, with the bench outscoring Maryland’s 55-20.
• Kitts had a breakout day with career highs in points (13) and rebounds (10).
• South Carolina’s 37 points in the fourth quarter matched the program record, previously set against Saint Peter’s (Nov. 22, 2016).
• South Carolina has scored at least 100 points in each of its last two games, marking the third time that has happened in program history. The most recent came in the 2020-21 season with the Gamecocks posting 106 at Vanderbilt (1/14/21) and following that with 104 against Arkansas (1/18/21). It first occurred when South Carolina posted 124 against Notre Dame on Jan. 31, 1981, and followed it with 100 against Florida A&M on Feb. 4, 1981.