One question got two very different answers in a single night at Littlejohn Coliseum. No. 1 South Carolina had just beaten Clemson for the 16th straight time. Then a reporter asked the Gamecocks’ star forward whether she thinks of this game as a rivalry. Her answer was short. Her coach’s answer came right after, and it was the opposite.
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The reporter asked Chloe Kitts the question at her press conference. Kitts did not wait. “Um… no, sir,” she said. Dawn Staley sat down at the same table after Kitts finished. When asked the same question, she said, “It’s a rivalry.”
The night itself was about defense. South Carolina beat Clemson 65-44 on Thursday, but it took a half to get going. The Gamecocks looked inconsistent early and led just 30-21 at the break. Clemson had actually led 4-2 for about 50 seconds in the first quarter, and the Tigers’ defense kept the game close.
South Carolina shot under 40% for most of the night. Texas transfer Jordan Lee made three of four shots in the half. The rest of the starting lineup went 3-of-13 over the same stretch, and Tessa Johnson missed six shots in a row after opening with a three.
The third quarter changed everything. The Gamecocks outscored the Tigers 21-7 and held them without a made shot. Clemson went 0-of-7 in the period. Johnson scored nine of her points, and she and Kitts combined for 13 in the first six minutes to turn a nine-point lead into 44-22.
The margin reached 23, and it was 51-28 going into the fourth quarter.
The final numbers told the story. South Carolina shot 43.4%. Clemson shot 22.4% and made just 12.5% of its threes. The Tigers turned the ball over 21 times, a season high, and the Gamecocks scored 19 points off those turnovers to Clemson’s 10. Johnson finished with 13 points, and Kitts had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
It was Chloe Kitts’ second straight double-double and the 19th of her career. Alicia Tournebize returned from an injury and had eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, three rebounds and three blocks in 13 minutes. Joyce Edwards had a tough shooting night but led the team with four assists and three steals.
Staley focused on the defense. “I’m happy this team is finding an identity, and that identity starts with our defense,” she said. She also liked what she saw from her bench. “I thought our depth grew tonight,” she said.
The Gamecocks are now 3-0, with wins over Maryland and North Carolina earlier this month. Clemson fell to 3-1.
Clemson has not beaten South Carolina since Nov. 19, 2009, a 94-92 double-overtime game. That was 6,202 days ago. Staley is now 16-2 against the Tigers, and almost all of the recent games have been blowouts of 20 points or more. Thursday’s margin was 21.
Clemson came in believing it was closer than the record showed. Last season, the Tigers took down No. 9 Duke and made their first NCAA Tournament since 2019. They also trailed South Carolina by only 10 points going into the fourth quarter before losing 65-37. Before this game, Clemson coach Shawn Poppie said there was no doubt his locker room believed it could win.
The two schools still compete in the Palmetto Series, the yearly contest across all sports. So far this year, South Carolina is ahead in the race by 5. This is on account of wins over sports ranging from women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, and even cross country.
The football matchup between the two schools is the one that carries the long history. So when a reporter asked whether the basketball game counts as a rivalry, a player and a coach looked at the same streak and gave two answers.
For now, the Gamecocks have a bigger test to focus on. They play No. 3 Southern Cal on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Greenville, South Carolina, on ABC. It is the second leg of the “Real SC” series, and South Carolina won the first, 69-52, last season in Los Angeles.
USC’s JuJu Watkins is averaging 24.3 points. Kitts and Staley may not agree on what to call the Clemson game. They will both be ready for Sunday.