DURHAM N.C. — She might not do the same thing in hindsight, but South Carolina forward Chloe Kitts was feeling the intensity of a back-and-forth battle with Duke on Sunday when she started the third quarter on a jump shot over Blue Devils freshman Jadyn Donovan.

Donovan and Kitts played together for Team USA in the FIBA U19 World Cup this summer, but there was no camaraderie between them on the court. Donovan was assessed a technical foul at the end of the second quarter for taunting Kitts after blocking her shot, and South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley ended up on the floor to ensure there was no scuffle.

The Gamecocks sophomore then opened the third quarter with the jumper over Donovan's head, and she blew the Duke freshman a kiss as she turned to get back on defense. Three minutes later, Kitts made a layup against Donovan and let out a scream of excitement as the shot fell.

"I probably shouldn't have done that, but I let the game come to me," Kitts said. "That just happens, but it probably won't happen again ... We played with each other at USA Basketball so there's no hate. It's all love."

For better or worse, South Carolina (7-0) played emotionally in its 77-61 win over the unranked Blue Devils (5-3). It was the second straight game where the team has received a technical foul: Point guard Raven Johnson was assessed one with Donovan for taunting the Duke bench, and Ashlyn Watkins received one after a scuffle with North Carolina's Deja Kelly on Thursday.

The 65-58 win over No. 24 UNC was the team's first true road game of the season, and both matchups this week were in front of hostile home crowds. Kitts said she felt the atmosphere impact the young team, especially in the first half.

"It was a competitive game and the crowd kind of just got to us," Kitts said. "We weren't used to playing in close games before these two games, but this showed us that we need to relax in this kind of environment and just play our game."

The Gamecocks settled in quickly though, giving up just six turnovers after allowing 14 in the first. They also committed just one of their six fouls after halftime. Despite a late surge from Duke to tie the game at 55 points in the fourth quarter, South Carolina answered with a 10-0 run to reestablish their lead.

"We don't want to be a team that taunts. We want to play the right way and respect our opponents and win basketball games," Staley said. "We stopped turning the ball over and we stopped taking bad shots. Those are the two things that allowed (Duke) to get back in the game.

Emotional play isn't inherently a bad thing for South Carolina, but it's a product of the Gamecocks' youth that they are still figuring out how to positively harness that energy. No one on the roster had played at Duke's iconic Cameron Indoor Stadium before, and only Te-Hina Paopao had ever started in a Power Five road game prior to this week.

Staley wants to see more composure and cleaner decision-making from her team, but their competitive toughness also showed her how high the ceiling can be.

"Our team is gritty. Our team is young. They want to win, and they're actually doing the little things, so I'm proud of them," Staley said. "I think we were just a little antsy and shot ourselves out of a cannon ... but really good players can make adjustments. They can cry, they can get mad and do all those things, but when it's time to lock up, they make the adjustments."

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This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina women's basketball shows youth in emotional Duke win