No. 1 seed South Carolina women blow past Presbyterian 91-39 to begin March Madness run
Chloe Kitts tied her career high with 21 points on 9-of-9 shooting as No. 1 overall seed South Carolina easily overcame the absence of starters Kamilla Cardoso and Bree Hall to beat No. 16 seed Presbyterian 91-39 in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Chloe Kitts tied her career high with 21 points on 9-of-9 shooting as No. 1 overall seed South Carolina easily overcame the absence of starters Kamilla Cardoso and Bree Hall to beat No. 16 seed Presbyterian 91-39 in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament on Friday.
The Gamecocks (33-0) moved five wins away from the 10th perfect championship season by overwhelming the Blue Hose (21-15) of the Big South Conference for a second time this season. Next comes another rematch against No. 8 seed North Carolina on Sunday. The Tar Heels gave up almost all of a 16-point lead before holding on to defeat No. 9 seed Michigan State earlier Friday.
Kitts also had a game-high 13 rebounds for her fifth double double this season. Te-Hina Paopao had 18 points and freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 17 for South Carolina, which moved to 12-0 in NCAA openers under coach Dawn Staley.
South Carolina played without Cardoso, their leading scorer, while she served a one-game suspension for her ejection for fighting last time out at the SEC Tournament finals on March 10. Hall, who started the previous 32 games, came out in street clothes on the bench. A team spokeswoman texted that Hall was out for “precautionary reasons.”
