Kitts’ dead-eye shooting lifts S. Carolina
Chloe Kitts tied her career high with 21 points on 9-for-9 shooting with 13 rebounds as No. 1 overall seed South Carolina (33-0) rolled to a 91-39 first-round women’s NCAA Tournament victory over Presbyterian (21-15) on Friday in Columbia.
Kitts, a lanky, 6-footer, has started all season, but her scoring production had dipped with a total of 22 points the previous four games. She found her game against the outgunned Blue Hose, not hesitating to take open looks.
“I feel like it was important for my confidence,” Kitts said. “My teammates were uplifting me, just finding me and passing me the ball.”
Kitts gave a boost to a team missing two starters in Kamilla Cardoso and Bree Hall. Cardoso served a one-game suspension after getting ejected for fighting last time out at the SEC Tournament finals on March 10. Hall was held out for precautionary reasons, according to coach Dawn Staley.
The Gamecocks moved five victories away from the 10th perfect championship season by overwhelming Presbyterian of the Big South Conference for a second time this season. Next comes a rematch against No. 8 seed North Carolina on Sunday.
LSU 70, Rice 60
Angel Reese overcame 1-for-7 shooting to finish with 10 points and 19 rebounds, and the thirdseeded Tigers (29-5) fended off a feisty performance by the No. 14 seed Owls (19-15) in Baton Rouge.
“Ugly win. It’s March. Survive and advance,” said Reese, who scored eight of her points on foul shots. “I couldn’t make anything tonight. But it’s like that; it happens sometimes.
“If you’re not impacting the game offensively then there’s other things you can do,” Reese added. “Defense and rebounding is something that I also try to bring to the table as much as I can.”
Aneesah Morrow added 15 points, while Flau’Jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams each scored 14 for LSU, which advanced to meet Middle Tennessee (30-4) in the second round on Sunday.
Texas 82, Drexel 42
Shaylee Gonzales scored 21 points, Taylor Jones added 18 and the No. 1 seed Longhorns (19-15) gored the No. 16 Dragons (19-15) in Austin.
Gonzales went 5-for-6 on threepointers while matching her season-high in scoring, and she had three steals. Jones shot 7-for-11 shots inside for Texas, which has won 13 of their last 14 games.
Drexel had only one starter taller than 6 feet — 6-2 Hedda Staatman. Rotating four post players who are between 6-1 and 6-4 most of the game, the Longhorns outscored the Dragons 44-18 in the paint and 22-6 on second-chance points thanks to a 26-10 edge in offensive rebounds.
stanford 79, norfolk state 50
Elena Bosgana scored 18 points and Cameron Brink, projected to be the second pick in the WNBA Draft, totaled 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead the second-seeded Cardinal (29-5) in Palo Alto.
Ohio State 80, Maine 57
Jacy Sheldon tallied 19 and three teammates scored in double figures as the second-seeded Buckeyes (265) mauled the Black Bears (24-10) in Columbus. Bigger and faster Ohio State swarmed Maine with a stifling press, forcing 22 turnovers.
Clark in ‘Businesslike’ mode
The first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament are the last chances for Iowa’s Caitlin Clark to play at home in Iowa City, and the last opportunity for Clark and fellow starters Gabbie Marshall and Kate Martin in the postseason.
“I feel like that’s not really how we’re approaching it,” Clark said. “We’re approaching it like this is very businesslike. We are here to win, get back to the Final Four.
The Hawkeyes (29-4) face Holy Cross (21-12) on Saturday. West Virginia (24-7) meets Princeton (25-4) in the other first-round game. ✶