Cardoso’s buzzer beater carries #Gamecocks into #SECWBB final (AUDIO)

Photos by Todd Van Emst/SEC

BON SECOURS WELLNESS ARENA: There are moments in the course of every team’s season that, in hindsight, serve as a crossroads. A dramatic victory may propel a team to new heights, while a heartbreaking loss can quell momentum and linger in the hearts and minds of the players for days or weeks. Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks, top-ranked and undefeated, may have found themselves at such a crossroads in the SEC semifinals, Saturday. South Carolina blistered Tennessee early, building a 23-point lead behind its swarming defense by midway through the second quarter. But Staley and a sellout crowd in Greenville watched as that lead disintegrated, evaporating under the heat applied by a band of determined Volunteers whose scrappy play and pinpoint adjustments had transformed USC’s once healthy lead into a two-point deficit.

With USC trailing and just 1.1 seconds on the clock, Kamilla Cardoso found herself in an unfamiliar position. Unguarded, the All-SEC center received a pass at the top of the key just beyond the 3-point line. Cardoso, unquestionably a force around the basket, had never made a 3-pointer in a collegiate game. Without hesitation, she wheeled to square herself to the hoop and let fly a long-distance shot that was a little long, a little firm, but dead-on line. The ball banked home, sending a jolt of energy through the arena and lifting the Gamecocks to a 74-73 victory.

Cardoso’s teammates poured onto the floor in jubilant celebration while the Volunteers drifted off the floor in disbelief.

Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper knew it was a risk to leave a player open, but with such little time on the clock, the strategy was to keep the Volunteers’ best shot blocker around the rim, “I wanted Tamari (Key) to be in the paint, so they couldn’t get a pass to the paint, but obviously at the end of a game like that, everyone is a shooter.”

South Carolina opened the game with a 13-0 spurt and after committing a season-high 24 turnovers in a quarterfinals victory over Texas A&M, didn’t turn the ball over for the first 13 minutes. Milaysia Fulwiley’s driving layup put USC up 35-12 with 3:11 left in the second quarter and looked to be a death knell.

The Vols battled back, however, closing the first half on an 11-1 run. Tennessee hit four 3-pointers in the third quarter and trailed 60-48 entering the fourth. Rickea Jackson did most of the damage, scoring 19 of her game-high 22 points in the second half. The Volunteers finally caught the Gamecocks with 4:12 to play and took their first lead on Jackson’s layup with 24.5 seconds left.

South Carolina didn’t look to have any answers, scoring just 11 points in the fourth quarter before Cardoso’s heroics.

USC guard Raven Johnson said she stayed true to the game plan and drew confidence from Staley, “I looked at Coach, and she’s like, ‘we’re good,’ and I thought, ‘ok, if she thinks we’re good, then we’re good.”

Lining up a shot for a player that had never made one in a Gamecocks uniform may not be ideal, but Tennessee’s defense didn’t leave Staley with a lot of options, “I really wanted Pao (Te-Hina Paopao) to be in a position to catch and shoot, but they did a great job on Pao all game long so I was skeptical about giving her the ball …. they’re not going to give Pao any daylight …. So, I told Kamilla (Cardoso) to shoot it, and added some more words I can’t share right here.”

The Gamecocks (31-0) will attempt to win an eighth SEC Tournament title since 2015 and keep their undefeated season alive when they take on LSU at 3 p.m., Sunday.

Final Stats

Dawn Staley, Raven Johnson and Milaysia Fulwiley
postgame press conference