Kamilla Cardoso returns to South Carolina-NC State game after apparent injury
One of the top players on the No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball team is dealing with an injury in the Gamecocks’ Final Four game against NC State.
Star USC center Kamilla Cardoso was dominating with 10 points in the second quarter and 16 overall before she appeared to twist her ankle after a fall on the offensive end of the floor. Cardoso came up slightly limping and struggled up and down the floor twice before subbing out at the 1:39 mark after a dead ball.
Cardoso walked straight into the locker room with USC trainer Craig Oates and did not return during the final minutes of the first half. No. 1 South Carolina was leading No. 3 NC State by one point, 32-31, at halftime.
The was no official word on Cardoso’s status as of 8 p.m., though she did come back out with the team for warmups ahead of the second half at 8:04 p.m. and appeared to be moving OK. She was also wearing a leg sleeve on her right leg, a new addition from earlier in the game.
In a halftime interview with ESPN, Gamecocks guard Raven Johnson said that Cardoso is “a killer” and she expects her teammate to fight through any lingering pain from her apparent ankle sprain.
“She’s going to be back in game,” Johnson said. “She’s got a mindset that she wants to be back in the game. She’s gonna be good.”
South Carolina relied heavily on Cardoso in the first half to spark its offense. She was 7-9 from the field, and the rest of the team was 7-23 (or 30%) from the field at halftime.
Cardoso, a 6-foot-7 center, had played in 31 of South Carolina’s 36 games heading into the Final Four, missing a handful because of previous commitments with the Brazilian national team and for rest after participating in those Olympic qualifying games with her home country’s team.
The winner of Friday’s South Carolina-NC State game will play either Iowa or UConn in the national championship game Sunday. Iowa and UConn tip off 30 minutes after the conclusion of the early game.
This story was originally published April 5, 2024 at 8:00 PM.
