Tensions were already high at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena as the No. 3 Trojans and the No. 1 Gamecocks battled for the title of “The Real SC” on Sunday. The heat first caught up with JuJu Watkins and Chloe Kitts, two of the biggest stars on the opposing teams, when the confrontation nearly turned into an altercation over a loose ball.
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The incident happened midway through the first quarter. The Trojans had started the game on a high note with a 5-0 lead before extending it to 17-9 when the opposing stars met at the baseline to outmuscle each other.
After a missed attempt by the Trojans, as both teams fought for the ball at the baseline, Kitts got hold of it but found herself surrounded by Watkins and freshman Saniyah Hall. The USC senior tried to snatch the ball out of Kitts’ hands. Both players had just leaned in for the confrontation when Hall led Watkins away from Kitts.
According to Gamecock Podcast host Matt Dowell, the tension quickly spread to the crowd, which also started to get into it. This was an early indicator of what could be a close contest.
“Early fire going on between Chloe Kitts and JuJu Watkins. Been boiling on little plays so far and got heated on the latest jump ball. Crowd getting really into it now too. Something to watch going forward,” Dowell wrote on X.
If this game were big for two people on the court, Chloe Kitts and Watkins would definitely top the list. Aside from their elite basketball touch, they share the pain of ACL injuries that kept them out of last season and the previous USC vs. South Carolina contests.
Both are in their senior year and are putting up great numbers this season. The teams entered undefeated through three games, and Sunday would end that for one of them.
Through three games, Kitts is putting up career-high numbers, averaging 12.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 53.8% from the field. Meanwhile, Watkins is leading her team with 24.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.7 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. She is converting 48.1% of her shots from the field.
Both Watkins and Kitts had slow offensive starts. By halftime, Kitts had posted 6 points on 25% shooting from the field, and Watkins was limited to just 11 points on 36.4% shooting.
In a battle of revenge and compulsive dominance, the Gamecocks won, extending their undefeated streak against the Trojans to 5-0. Having all of her nation’s top recruits in the lineup, Lindsey Gottlieb expected a different result on Sunday, and she should have, but that was Dawn Staley she was trying to defeat, and she failed.
Before the game, Davidson had said that the Trojans were waiting for this game ever since they were blown out by the Gamecocks in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Well, they started off true to Davidson’s words, going 5-0 in the first three minutes. Tessa Johnson and Kennedy Smith exchanged buckets in the first few minutes.
However, after an early lead, the Gamecocks caught up and outscored the Trojans 24-23 in the first quarter. The result was similar in the second quarter as SC outscored them again 25-22 in the second quarter, taking a four-point lead before halftime. South Carolina took as much as a 12-point lead in the game, but it was too much for USC to catch up, dropping the game 89-85 for the first loss of the season.
After early struggles, Watkins caught up with her shooting, finishing the game with 25 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. She converted 8 of her 20 shots. Saniyah Hall, Jazzy Davidson and Kennedy Smith added 17, 14 and 15 points.
Tessa Johnson led the Gamecocks with 28 points. Joyce Edwards had a 20-point double-double, recording 20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a block. Chloe Kitts also recorded her third double-double in her fourth game. She had 15 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals.
The Trojans have high hopes for this season, and the loss to South Carolina is their earliest reality check.