Chloe Kitts Scores Career-High, Continues Growing Into Starting Role

DURHAM, N.C. — Nearly a year to the day after Chloe Kitts made waves by enrolling early at South Carolina to start her career, she was the central figure in one of the sport’s most iconic gyms.

Kitts — a freshman by age but now a sophomore by experience — ended up involved in two tussles with Duke’s Jaydn Donovan at a raucous Cameron Indoor Stadium. First a physical scrap for a held ball, and then a carnage-inducing block at the other end that led two some taunting, two technical fouls and a Dawn Staley surge down the floor.

When the dust settled Kitts became public enemy No. 1 in Durham for the afternoon, and responded with a career-high 14 points to help No. 1 South Carolina win 77-61 at Duke.

“It was just a competitive game," Kitts said of the incident. “The crowd kind of just got to us. We played with each other during USA Basketball, so there’s no hate. It’s all love.”

Just moments after the two scrapped for a loose ball that gave South Carolina (7-0) its final possession of the first half, Donvoan blocked Kitts’ driving layup and stood over her for several seconds. Donovan received a technical foul for the move, Raven Johnson picked one up for taunting the Duke (5-3) bench and Staley made a beeline for the chaos all the way down at the opposite end. Like a running back finding a hole between blockers, she burst between assistants Lisa Boyer and Jolette Law to reach the spot.

Nothing was keeping her from the moment.

“I went out just to make sure there weren’t any scuffles,” Staley said. “And they said Raven taunted their bench. I have to go back and look at it. I looked at it a little bit at halftime, but it cut off. I didn’t see enough of it.”

Nothing on the scoreboard changed with the two technicals canceling each other out and South Carolina still taking a 35-29 lead into the locker room, but the intensity of the game shifted dramatically.

Every time Kitts received a pass in the second half the crowd was on edge a little bit, waiting for her to make a mistake. Her misses were cheered by a boisterous Duke faithful, but it was a double-edged sword.

The moment sparked her, and she quickly responded with two emotional buckets early in the second half over Donovan. First a mid-range jump shot where she blew a kiss in Donovan’s direction — a move Kitts admitted post-game she “probably shouldn’t have done” — and then a tough finish in traffic that prompted an emotional yell.

All of this comes off the back of her 11-point performance at North Carolina Thursday, including two pressure-packed free throws with 24 seconds left that all but iced the win after the Tar Heels cut the deficit to three.

For a weekend billed as a learning experience, an opportunity to take a young team on the road and play a Thursday-Sunday circuit similar to those of conference play, Kitts might have developed as much as anyone during the last 80 minutes of basketball.

“We put a schedule together that was challenging,” Staley said. “Not knowing who we would have, who our starters were, and we’ve always done that. Never have taken a non-conference schedule to fine tune some stuff. Iron sharpens iron. And we want to be the best. In order for us to be the best we have to play the best teams in November and December, because we’ll definitely face them in March and April.”

Those starting spots were up in the air coming into the season, particularly at the four spot. Kitts beat out Ashlyn Watkins and Sania Feagin for the role, taking the opportunity less than a calendar year removed from being a high school student. Kitts was far from alone among players who gained vital first-time experience on Tobacco Road, but she might be a microcosm for what this team gained out of its initial road tests.

Going from a mid-season addition as a bench player who averaged 6.8 minutes per game to a permanent starter is a leap on its own. Going from starter to impact contributor was the next step, and a career-high in points shortly after being involved in an emotional fracas in a hostile building was major validation of her development.

“I feel like we have grown,” Kitts said. “We weren’t used to playing in close games before these two games, but these two games showed us that we just need to relax in these types of environments and play our game.”

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