South Carolina forward Chloe Kitts won her first SEC Tournament MVP award after the Gamecocks lifted its third straight conference title. Dawn Staley's team defeated Texas 64-45 on Sunday for its ninth championship since 2015.
Kitts' achievement thrust her to an elite list of players like A'ja Wilson, Aliyah Boston, Kiki Herbert Harrigan, Tiffany Mitchell and more SEC Tournament MVPs. The junior forward reflected on the significance of her Most Valuable Player award during a locker room interview.
"I mean, if feels amazing, those are all dogs and I'm just happy I'm able to be part of it," she said.
Chloe Kitts' best performance came in the quarterfinal against Vanderbilt, where she dropped 25 points and 10 rebounds on 85.7% shooting. She continued with double-digit performances in the semifinal and the finals, averaging 16.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and three assists on 74.1% shooting.
Kitts' father, who was in the arena to watch her daughter have the best outing in the SEC Tournament final, reflected on Dawn Staley's contribution to her growth.
"In our household, we want pressure; we are here for a reason, we know that this program will grow you as a person," he said.
"Basketball is pretty easy in our household but when you come here around coach Staley, around the culture that she has in place - that's where the kids really develop and mature to be growing women when they leave here and that's really the most important part."
Apart from Kitts' leadership, her performance in the SEC tournament was a major step up from her regular season stats. She has averaged 10.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists on 52.8% this season.
When Chloe Kitts accidentally revealed a play after the win over Vanderbilt
While reflecting on her biggest game of the conference tournament against Vanderbilt on Thursday, Chloe Kitts accidentally revealed the team's call for her in the post-game conference.
"I was just going out there and playing confident," she began. "My coaches and the point guard kept saying ‘14,’ which is kind of get the ball to me and I just delivered."
While Dawn Staley intervened right after, it was too late as the entire play was out.
"You just told our play," Staley said.
The '14' worked wonders for Chloe Kitts and the Gamecocks against Vanderbilt as 11 of her 25 points came in the fourth quarter.
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