BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — When Dawn Staley drew up South Carolina’s final offensive possession, the goal was simple: Get the ball to Chloe Kitts.
Kitts, the 6-foot-2 junior post, was South Carolina’s best offensive weapon in the fourth quarter. She scored eight of her 14 points in that quarter, but for her final two, she didn’t want the ball.
After South Carolina left the huddle, Kitts turned to point guard Ta-hina Paopao and asked her, “Can you get the ball? Can you get the ball?” Paopao was taken aback and denied Kitts’ request.
“Girl, what? Go get the ball,” she told her.
Kitts got the ball and was fouled before walking to the free-throw line with her nerves at an all-time high. Kitts is a good free-throw shooter, she’d made 5 of 8 to that point and is an 81 percent free-throw shooter this season. But in that moment, with the Gamecocks’ Final Four aspirations hanging in the balance, she was scared.
She couldn’t even look at her father, Jason Kitts, in the stands.
Around her, South Carolina’s players were encouraging her. Bree Hall, who was standing at the line to rebound, was telling Kitts: “You’re unshakable. You got this.” Sania Feagin told her to take a deep breath.
She listened to them and made both free throws. A few seconds later, top-seeded South…
