Cardoso for the win! No. 1 South Carolina survives Tennessee at SEC Tournament
South Carolina defeated No. 5 seed Tennessee 74-73 Saturday in the SEC Tournament semifinals Saturday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville. The Gamecocks are now just one win away from their eighth league tournament title under coach Dawn Staley.
A literal last-second 3 from center Kamilla Cardoso — her first attempt of the season and first make of her career — won the game at the buzzer.
“I yelled at Kamilla, said, ‘Shoot it.’ I added some more words to that,” coach Dawn Staley said with a grin, “but I can’t say it right here.”
USC started its usual first five: guards Te-Hina Paopao, Raven Johnson and Bree Hall along with forward Chloe Kitts and Cardoso. Three Gamecocks scored in double figures: Fulwiley (13), Cardoso (13) and Johnson (11).
South Carolina will play again Sunday in the SEC Championship game, taking on LSU.
USC’s domineering defense drops off
Tennessee didn’t score until seven minutes and nine seconds into Saturday’s semifinal game. South Carolina’s defense forced Tennessee to the perimeter, where it did not score until a 3-pointer from Rickea Jackson at the 2:51 mark in the first quarter put UT on the board.
The Gamecocks opened on a 13-0 run. They kept the Lady Vols shooting 25% from the field, including 23.1% from 3 in the first half. Tennessee didn’t have a single point in the paint until the second quarter. The Lady Vols ended the second quarter on a 7-0 run, as Cardoso and Watkins picked up their second personal fouls late in the period and were confined to the bench.
UT carried that momentum into the third quarter, shooting 53.3% from the field and 57.1% from 3. Jackson and Jewel Spear got hot during the period, driving to the basket and Jackson sinking a couple 3s. They scored 12 and seven points, respectively, in the third quarter.
After trailing by as many as 23 points, the Lady Vols made it a two-point game in the fourth quarter, going on a 15-5 run in the first five minutes of the final period before a timeout. UT tied the game at 65-even out of the break. Then again 69-69. Then 71-71. With 24 second remaining, Tennessee led (for the first time all game) 73-71.
Gamecocks gain, lose the edge inside
The Gamecocks controlled the boards Saturday, denying the Lady Vols opportunities for second-chance points while also increasing such opportunities for themselves.
South Carolina outrebounded Tennessee 27-15 in the first half. Thirteen of USC’s rebounds came on the offensive end, which it converted to 12 points. UT managed five offensive rebounds in that same stretch and parlayed that into four second-chance points.
The second half was a different story, though, as USC’s rebounding prowess and interior defense began to fall off.
The Gamecocks finished with 41 rebounds and 18 second-chance points to the Lady Vols’ 34 rebounds and eight second-chance points.
MiLaysia Fulwiley embraces the big stage
Fulwiley said after South Carolina’s quarterfinal game that she learned she wasn’t prepared for postseason basketball. But, she added, she would take the experience and be better for it come Saturday.
She lived up to her promise.
Fulwiley was the first Gamecock to achieve double-digit scoring, speeding across the floor now that she felt more acclimated to the pace of postseason play. She ended the game with 13 points, four rebounds and a steal without a single turnover.
“Her maturation process is great,” Staley said. “She wants to be great. She takes criticism well. She doesn’t like it in the moment. But if you come back and you explain it to her, she has a really good understanding of it.
“I thought she played really undisciplined (Friday). I talked to her today, she said she hadn’t watched the game yet but she was going to go back and watch it. One of our other coaches talked to her and reported back to me that she was like, It’s going to be better today, it’s going to be different.
“That’s how she operates.”
SEC championship
- Who: South Carolina (31-0) vs. LSU (28-4)
- When: 3 p.m. Sunday
- Where: Bon Secours Wellness Arena
- TV: ESPN
This story was originally published March 9, 2024 at 6:42 PM.
