Month after Chloe Kitts, Tessa Johnson's USA basketball 3x3 quest, Khadijah Sessions shares heartfelt note

The South Carolina Gamecocks, led by Chloe Kitts and Joyce Edwards, lost the national championship game to the UConn Huskies in April, falling short in their bid to repeat as champions. Ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, the Gamecocks retained most of their players from last season.

Less than a month after the national championship game loss, Kitts, Edwards, Tessa Johnson and Maddy McDaniel were part of the 2025 USA Basketball 3X3 roster that competed in the nationals. South Carolina assistant coach Khadijah Sessions called the plays for them in the tournament.

After the 3X3 championships ended, Sessions shared a heartfelt message on X for Kitts and Co.

"Miss them so much. I had a ball," Sessions tweeted on Wednesday.

Chloe Kitts and Co. make USA 3X3 debuts

While Chloe Kitts, Tessa Johnson and Maddy McDaniel have Team USA 5-on-5 experience at different age group levels, none of them played in the 3X3 version. Of the South Carolina Gamecocks contingent, only Joyce Edwards had experience with it.

However, the team went 3-0 in the pool stages, earning praise from Khadijah Sessions during her postgame news conference.

“I think they played pretty well yesterday,” Sessions said on Tuesday. “I think we have to clean up a little bit of small things in our offense, get some more mismatches for Joyce and (McDaniel), and I think they did well. I think they played well together for the first time being in 3x3. It was really fun.”

Despite their dominance, and eliminating the Oklahoma Sooners in the quarterfinals, the Gamecocks lost in the semifinals to Team Chaos. It was headlined by former South Carolina star MiLaysia Fulwiley, who joined the LSU Tigers in April.

Sessions also revealed to reporters how happy she was to coach her team.

“It feels good, man,” Sessions said. “I get to coach McDonald's All-Americans. I get to coach great human beings. Just blessed to be here with these girls and just having fun. I just want them to have fun and go out there and play as hard as they can.”

Next season, Kitts, Johnson, McDaniel and Edwards will aim to lead the Gamecocks back to the top and win the national championship.