Raven Johnson stood on the right corner of the 3-point arc.
Up just three points with 6:04 left in the third quarter of the season opener against Michigan, South Carolina (1-0) was playing in front of a crowd wearing garnet and white Monday, despite the game’s location in Las Vegas.
Johnson fed Chloe Kitts, two Michigan players collapsed on her as she dropped down on the block, and one fell over her back. The shot went up, the ball went in, the whistle blew and Kitts stomped her feet in celebration.
The South Carolina women’s basketball bench stood to applaud.
Kitts walked her way to the free throw line for the extra point and her voice was audible.
“Did you pass that? Good pass,” she said to Johnson.
“Confidence,” Kitts said when asked where she’s improved since last year. “My team, my coaches help with that … and my body, last year I was falling every possession.”
Kitts graduated high school early, playing her first game on Dec. 18, 2022, after just three practices with the team. She scored six of her 10 points by halftime.
She averaged just 1.6 points in the 18 games she played as a freshman, sitting behind a stacked group of post players, including Aliyah Boston, Victaria Saxton and Kamilla Cardoso. Last season, her points per game increased to 9.1, her minute total ballooned by 564 minutes and she started in 31 of 37 games.
When Cardoso, last year’s leading scorer and star center, was drafted in the WNBA, many thought the Gamecocks would be fine this season with Ashlyn Watkins still on the team.
Watkins started five games with Kitts last year when Cardoso was out and averaged 9.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
The duo looked like they could ease the transition of Cardoso’s void, but when Watkins was arrested on Aug. 31, that all changed. Watkins was charged with first-degree assault and battery and kidnapping. Following her arrest, she was suspended from all team activities.
Both charges were listed as “Dismissed Not Indicted” on Nov. 1, and on Wednesday morning, the team confirmed she is no longer suspended and back practicing. South Carolina, which faces NC State in Charlotte on Sunday (3 p.m., ESPN) has not announced when Watkins will play.
Meanwhile, Kitts leads the group of post players and each lineup, no matter who plays beside her. Coach Dawn Staley warned people how ready she was for this opportunity.
Last month, Staley told media that Kitts was already in midseason form and a day later in the exhibition game against Memphis, she had 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Kitts had six double-doubles last season, including 11 points and 10 rebounds in the championship game against Iowa. She scored in double-figures 19 times as a sophomore.
Her lack of physical strength was a weakness, falling against stronger defenders in the post. She put a focus on eating more, eating right and getting in the gym, all of which she and Staley said have vastly improved her game.
“We just need to come together, all of our posts are different and we just need to show what we can do … we’ll be fine,” Kitts said.
