GREENVILLE, S.C. — Three minutes launched South Carolina women’s basketball’s postseason run, then another three pushed it into the SEC Tournament semifinals.
After South Carolina and Vanderbilt traded blows with a typical feeling out process early in a postseason game, Tessa Johnson drove baseline and drew a blocking foul on Vanderbilt superstar Mikayka Blakes. It was her second foul with 3:02 left in the first quarter, and the SEC Freshman of the Year sat for the remainder of the frame.
South Carolina ripped off a 13-2 run to end the quarter. Later in the game after Vanderbilt trimmed a 25-point deficit down to five, another 16-0 run for the Gamecocks in a similar space of time eliminated any doubt from the margin and confirmed South Carolina’s XX-XX win.
Chloe Kitts took over when the chips were down, the type of closing effort South Carolina (28-3) has been looking for from an individual player. After Vanderbilt (22-10) trimmed the lead to five, Kitts scored seven points in a row and nine of the final 16 in the game-clinching run to end up with a career-high 25 points.
The win is South Carolina’s seventh in a row in the SEC Tournament dating back to 2023, and sets up a quarterfinal match-up against the winner of the Kentucky vs. Oklahoma game on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
MiLaysia Fulwiley sparked the initial surge, as she so often does off the bench. Her injection of speed completely blistered past a Vanderbilt team lacking it without Blakes on the floor, and she ended the first quarter by waking up the early afternoon crowd.
A defensive rebound led to a quick transition bucket, and moments later Fulwiley earned a steal. With the clock running down she noticed it, pulled up in transition and buried a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. It was five points in 14 seconds for the sophomore guard, and felt like a first quarter dagger if such a shot exists.
The rest of the first half was a defensive clinic, the type of total lock-in befitting of the calendar’s turn to March. Vanderbilt (22-10) entered the game seventh in the country in scoring with an average of 84.3 points per game, but only had 23 in the first half as the Gamecocks clogged every passing lane, were active with their hands and completely denied Blakes easy looks even when she did return to action.
A Vanderbilt team with elite guard play but a distinct lack of size had no chance inside, as Kitts, Sania Feagin and Joyce Edwards took turns overwhelming the Commodores in the paint. The trio combined for 50 points and 23 rebounds, and 15 team offensive rebounds led to 18 second-chance points.
An outstanding first half, a wobbly second and a big closing punch. Not perfect, but a solid building block for what the Gamecocks are hoping was the first of nine postseason games.
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