Kamilla Cardoso is back for USC WBB game at Tennessee. What it means for lineup
After missing last week’s games versus Missouri and UConn, South Carolina’s star center Kamilla Cardoso has returned.
She landed in Columbia around noon Tuesday, coach Dawn Staley said, and attended the Gamecocks practice. Cardoso did not participate Tuesday after a long day of traveling from Belém, Brazil, where she played a role in Brazil Basketball’s quest to qualify for the Olympics. While unsuccessful in that quest, Cardoso did make the tournament’s five-person All-Star team.
Cardoso will join USC on the court in Knoxville on Thursday to take on the Tennessee Lady Volunteers and “might” be on a minutes restriction, Staley said Wednesday.
Cardoso looked good in practice Wednesday with the Gamecocks, Staley added. Ashlyn Watkins, South Carolina’s sixth woman who stepped into the starting lineup while Cardoso was away and before that when forward Chloe Kitts was sick, will start in Cardoso’s place or come off the bench.
On her radio call-in show Tuesday night, Staley said she spoke with Watkins about her place in the rotation after a stellar stint as a starter. Staley informed Watkins that if Cardoso recovered in time for Thursday’s game, then USC would employ its typical starting lineup of guards Te-Hina Paopao, Raven Johnson and Bree Hall along with Kitts and Cardoso.
Watkins said, “OK,” Staley remembered. “I want Sixth Player of the Year.”
The sophomore forward started four consecutive games for South Carolina versus Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri and UConn. She averaged 12.3 points on 66.5% shooting, 10.3 rebounds, three blocks, 2.3 steals and 1.8 assists during that stretch.
“Ashlyn is impressive,” Staley said after USC’s 83-65 win over UConn. “Like, super impressive. I think with her having more responsibility, she’s thriving in it on both sides of the floor. I can hear her talk and quarterback our defense. She’s pushing Breezy (Hall) out because Breezy’s stuck on the screen. It’s beautiful. It really is.
“I’m super proud of her. Because she wasn’t a starter. I know she wanted to start, and it bothered her to a point of actually showing me what we’re missing out on with her not starting. ...She’s grown from Kamilla’s absence.”
How to watch South Carolina vs Tennessee
- Who: No. 1 South Carolina 23-0 (10-0 SEC) vs. Tennessee (15-8, 8-3)
- When: 7 p.m. Thursday
- Where: Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
- TV: ESPN
