How Kierra Fletcher went from Dawn Staley fan to South Carolina women's basketball starter

COLUMBIA — The last time Kierra Fletcher played in the NCAA Tournament in 2021, she wore a navy and gold Georgia Tech jersey. Fletcher and Yellow Jackets were eliminated by South Carolina women's basketball in the Sweet 16. The point guard hasn't forgotten.

Fletcher joined No. 1 South Carolina (32-0) this season as a graduate transfer after missing her entire senior year at Georgia Tech due to a foot injury that required surgery. She will wear a garnet jersey in her first NCAA Tournament appearance since that 2021 loss to the Gamecocks when her new team faces 16-seed Norfolk State (26-6) on Friday (2 p.m., ESPN) at Colonial Life Arena.

Fletcher logged 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in the 2021 matchup, but Georgia Tech ultimately fell 76-65 to the South Carolina. The Gamecocks went on to reach the Final Four that season but lost to eventual national champion Stanford.

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"Ki did not hold back, I will say that," Gamecocks senior Brea Beal said with a laugh. "She did not hold back. This will be her first official tournament back from her injury, so she was like 'I remember when we played you guys in the tournament, and it didn't end well.' But I was like, yeah I remember that."

However, the loss isn't what Fletcher remembers most about the Sweet 16 matchup. As a self-describe "basketball junkie" and lifelong fan of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, Fletcher was starstruck at the opportunity to meet her after the game.

"When I'm around someone or have the opportunity to meet someone that I look up to that much, I just really get extremely nervous," Fletcher said. "I went up to Coach and I was like, I just want to let you know I'm your biggest fan and like, I love you ... I just thought it was really cool, and my coach took a picture of us and stuff."

In that moment, Fletcher never imagined for a moment that she would one day be playing for Staley. Even when she entered the transfer portal a year ago, she didn't think South Carolina would be an option until the Gamecocks reached out to her.

This season, Fletcher has been more than an option for the Gamecocks. She won the starting point guard job over redshirt freshman Raven Johnson after two games, and has started in every game since except for the SEC Tournament championship game she missed due to an ankle injury. She averages 7.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

"Ki has a lot of knowledge. She's super smart," senior guard Zia Cooke said. "She's been in the game for a while so she knows what's needed, and she trusts us. We trust her. If she was here with us for the long run, we would have been even better."

Fletcher took her first official visit while South Carolina hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in 2022. Finishing her college basketball career playing in an identical scenario feels poetic to the point guard.

"It's weird because the hotel that we're staying at right now for the tournament is the same hotel that I stayed at with the team last season that they had to stay at as well," Fletcher said. "It's all coming so fast. It's like two, three weeks left and after that real life actually starts. It's crazy, so I'm just trying to soak it all in and stay in the moment now."

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dawn Staley fan Kierra Fletcher now South Carolina basketball starter