GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley thought winning this year’s SEC Championship would be much harder than any of the school’s previous titles after the league added Texas and Oklahoma to the mix.
But it didn’t look all that hard at all for the fifth-ranked Gamecocks.
Tournament MVP Chloe Kitts finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, Tessa Johnson added 14 points and South Carolina completed a dominant three-day run in Greenville by knocking off No. 1 and second-seeded Texas 64-45 on Sunday to win its third straight Southeastern Conference Tournament championship and ninth title in the last 11 years under Staley.
“They are young people that come down here and perform to a high standard every single time they step on the floor and for that I am super proud of them,” Staley said.
Sania Feagin and Joyce Edwards each had 11 points for the Gamecocks, who boldly staked their claim to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Gamecocks won their three tournament games by 21, 18 and 19 points with the last two coming against newcomers No. 10 Oklahoma and Texas.
None of them looked prepared to handle South Carolina’s intensity.
South Carolina (30-3) never trailed and blew the game open with a 19-2 run to start the second quarter to build a 33-16 lead at the break behind a stifling defense. The lead ballooned to 21 early in the fourth quarter and the Gamecocks were never threatened again.
“I took two timeouts in the second quarter and we just could not stop (their momentum),” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said.
Staley improved to 5-0 against Schaefer in the SEC title games, although the previous four came when he coached at Mississippi State.
Kitts average 16.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game during the tournament and shot 74% from the field, but the Gamecocks got contributions from several players as Staley rolled in one talented player after another.
But the team defense was key.
The Gamecocks held All-American Madison Booker to 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting to snap Texas’ 15-game win streak and forced 18 turnovers. Taylor Jones and Rori Harmon led Longhorns (31-3) with 14 points each.
Said Harmon: “We have another big tournament ahead of us and we have to learn from our mistakes. … but this game will haunt us as a team.”
Schaefer said he still expects his team to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“One quarter, one game certainly doesn’t define our season,” Schaefer said.
Key stat
South Carolina outscored its three SEC Tournament opponents 67-27 in the second quarter.
Gamecock Notables
- With the 64-45 win over Texas, South Carolina earned its third consecutive SEC Tournament title, and its ninth overall.
- The victory against the Longhorns marked the first win over a No. 1 ranked team in program history.
- Three Gamecocks were named to the All-Tournament Team – MiLaysia Fulwiley, Sania Feagin and Chloe Kitts.
- Chloe Kitts was named the Tournament MVP, posting a near double-double with a team-high 15 points and nine boards, with six of her points coming in the final quarter to put the Gamecocks on top by 20 points. She finished the tournament with a team-high 16.7 PPG and averaged 7.7 boards.
- Tournament Tessa made an appearance as Tessa Johnson finished with 14 points after shooting 5-for-7 from the floor and hitting two 3s in the second half that gave South Carolina its largest lead of the game at the time (45-25).
- Sania Feagin had a strong third quarter, knocking down seven of her 11 points in just as many minutes on perfect 3-for-3 shooting from the field, including a buzzer-beating 3 to end the quarter.
- Joyce Edwards finished in double-figures for the third time, making the mark in each round of the tournament to finish with a team second-best 14.7 points per game.
- MiLaysia Fulwiley earned her spot on the All-Tournament team behind 13.0 points, 3.3 assists and 2.8 steals per game for the event
