South Carolina women's basketball: Chloe Kitts wins gold medal
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Chloe Kitts helped lead USA Basketball to a gold medal at the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup, adding to the Gamecocks’ summer medal haul.
Kitts started all seven games for Team USA. She got the Americans off to a fast start in the gold medal game with nine points and four rebounds in the first seven minutes. Kitts finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, second on the team in both categories, in the narrow 69-66 win over Spain.
For the tournament, Kitts was third on the team with an average of 10.7 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds. Her efficiency rating of 15.9 was second on the team.
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It was Kitts’s second medal in two appearances with USA Basketball. She won a gold medal last year at the Americas Championship as a member of the U18 team.
A versatile 6-3 wing, Kitts averaged 1.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 6.9 minutes in 18 appearances last season but is expected to make a big jump next season. The World Cup was an encouraging glimpse into her progress.
Also on the team was Joyce Edwards, a rising senior at Camden High School and the top-ranked prospect in the 2024 class. The 6-3 forward was one of just two high school players on the team (Allie Ziebell), but was arguably the most productive player.
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Edwards had six points and four rebounds in the gold medal game. She led the Americans in scoring (12.6 points) and efficiency (16.6) and also averaged 6.3 rebounds. She and Hannah Hidalgo were the two Americans named to the All-Star Five.
The U19 World Cup has forced Edwards to delay making her college visits. The Gamecocks are the favorites to land Edwards (and Kitts and Edwards have posted many pictures together, teasing Gamecocking fans), but she has her choice of going anywhere in the country.
The Americans have won gold in nine of the last ten U19 World Cups. The only time they didn’t win gold was when they lost in the final to Russia in 2017. Current Gamecocks Sania Feagin and Te-Hina Paopao won a U19 gold medal in 2021.
The tournament was the first FIBA competition played on a new glass court. The court is plain glass and all the markings are made by adjustable LED graphics.
Gamecocks also took home gold and silver medals at the 2023 FIBA AmeriCup Tournament, with Kamilla Cardoso earning MVP honors for leading Brazil to the gold medal. Raven Johnson won the silver with the USA.
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Cardoso had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and three steals in Brazil’s 69-58 win over Team USA in the gold medal game. Cardoso, who was also the MVP of the South America Championship last year, averaged 10.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 blocks, and 1.0 steals for the tournament.
Johnson started all seven games for the United States and averaged 5.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists.
