South Carolina's Dawn Staley gives injury update on Kierra Fletcher ahead of March Madness

COLUMBIA — South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley said starting point guard Kierra Fletcher is expected to resume practicing Tuesday after suffering a left ankle injury in the SEC tournament.

Staley said the point guard is "getting better every day," but has not practiced since the injury. The No. 1 Gamecocks drew the top overall 1-seed in March Madness and will open the NCAA Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on Friday against 16-seed Norfolk State.

Fletcher, a graduate transfer from Georgia Tech, injured her ankle in the first quarter of the Gamecocks' SEC tournament semifinal game against Ole Miss. Though she returned to the bench with just a brace on the ankle and briefly checked back in, Fletcher did not play in the SEC championship the following day and wore a walking boot on the sideline. The Gamecocks won the conference title over Tennessee 74-58.

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Staley said the team is hopeful Fletcher will be available for Friday's first-round game and Sunday's second-round game against the winner of the matchup between 8-seed South Florida and 9-seed Marquette. The graduate transfer has started 29 of 32 games for the Gamecocks averaging 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.

Redshirt freshman Raven Johnson will make her fourth career start in her NCAA tournament debut if Fletcher is unavailable on Friday. Johnson played 38 minutes and logged five rebounds and five assists starting in the SEC championship. She is averaging four points, 3.4 assists and 2.5 rebounds on the season.

South Carolina enters March Madness undefeated for the first time in program history, and the team will look to become just the tenth women's team in NCAA history to complete a perfect season. The Gamecocks also aim to defend their 2022 national championship. Just three programs — Southern California, Tennessee and UConn — have ever won consecutive titles.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dawn Staley updates Kierra Fletcher's injury status for March Madness