"Do we want our players to be robots? No!": Dawn Staley reacts to Chloe Kitts benefitting from Raven Johnson and Bree Hall's veteran leadership

Chloe Kitts and the South Carolina Gamecocks, coached by Dawn Staley, are focused on retaining their top SEC standing in the 2024-25 postseason. They clinched their fourth straight conference regular season championship after making quick work of the No. 12-ranked Kentucky Wildcats by 12 points, 78-66, on Sunday at home.

As the fifth-ranked team in the country, they finished the regular campaign with an SEC record of 15-1, 27-3 overall, with their sight on another deep national tournament run in March, thanks to the stellar play of key cogs like Chloe Kitts, led by veterans in graduating players like Raven Johnson and Bree Hall.

During her media availability on Wednesday, Staley was asked about her thoughts on a sequence during a Gamecocks game when Kitts was arguing with the officials but had Johnson and Hall cool her off. She said that it's a welcome sight to have experienced players help each other out when emotions run high.

"We've seen that over and over again...What I think happened in the Ole Miss game was I think Chloe traveled then you had Breezy (and) Raven coming right over to her. Turn the page , we've been talking a lot lately about one, keeping the main thing, the main thing (and) two, just being unflappable, just unshakeable, unbothered no matter what," Staley said. (2:46)

"No matter what environment we're in, no matter what the circumstances are, just really rely and trust your habits. I do believe we're doing that. Do we want our players to be robots? No. They're going to react to what they think is happening out there on the floor," she explained

"But, the moment they can just turn the page as quickly as possible is the moment that we've gotten better at towards the end of the season," Staley concluded.

The graduating Johnson and Hall will look to sign off with a conference tournament title and another national championship, as South Carolina's postseason starts on Friday, with their opponent to be determined.

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Chloe Kitts is named as the SEC Player of the Week

Earlier in the week, it was announced that forward Chloe Kitts is named as the SEC Player of the Week for the final week of the regular season. This was highlighted by her historic triple double against the Ole Miss Rebels on Feb. 27, where she had 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals and a block in 34 minutes in a 75-59 win.

Chloe Kitts quickly followed it up with a double-double of 12 markers and 10 boards to go with a dime, a swipe and two swats when the South Carolina Gamecocks clinched the SEC regular season trophy in the 78-66 drubbing of the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday.