South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, and junior forward Chloe Kitts met with the press after defeating Vanderbilt 84-63 in the SEC tournament quarterfinals.
Kitts and Fulwiley led the No. 5 Gamecocks (28-3, 15-1) in scoring with 25 and 15, respectively, with Kitts adding another 10 rebounds to finish the day with a double-double. Here’s everything the three had to say after advancing to the SEC tournament semifinals.
Everything Chloe Kitts, Dawn Staley Said After Advancing to SEC Tournament Semifinals
Staley acknowledged Vanderbilt’s effective gameplan to the press, and said the Commodores forced the Gamecocks to play “bad basketball.”
“Really good basketball is contagious, and really bad basketball is contagious,” Staley said.
Vanderbilt’s double teams and pressure caused South Carolina turnovers and mistakes, allowing for easy Commodore baskets and swaying the momentum of the game, leading to a 16-0 run to end the game for the Gamecocks.
Staley was happy with the final unit the team put out on the floor, getting in a rhythm and playing well together on both sides.
The South Carolina head coach said the team honed in on getting Kitts, the hot hand, the ball.
“I thought her teammates did a really good job at finding her. I thought she did a great job at just making a play. We called her number, and she delivered for us,” Staley said.
Staley also heaped high praise on Fulwiley, calling the sophomore a “generational talent.”
“She can do things on a basketball court that I haven’t seen a female do,” Staley said.
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With a 33-4 bench advantage, and a team full of players who could likely start elsewhere, Fulwiley acknowledged the team’s winning mindset.
“Whether you’re doing it from coming off the bench or starting a game, we all just want to win,” Fulwiley said. “So I think the first group, they pushed the bench to be a better version of ourselves.
“In practice, we push, we work each other, and we push every day. So I feel like it just flows in the game. And when the bench comes in, our starters know that we have their back.”
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