GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Kamilla Cardoso banked in her first-ever 3-pointer at the buzzer and rescued No. 1 South Carolina’s perfect season with a 74-73 victory over Tennessee at the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday.
The Gamecocks (31-0) had blown a 23-point lead and trailed the Lady Vols (19-12) 73-71 with 1.1 seconds left. But Raven Johnson’s pass found an open Cardoso at the top of the key and the team’s leading scorer and rebounder calmly shot it off glass and in.
“I knew with the players we had on the floor, pretty much the only person who was going to be open was Kamilla,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “So I just told Raven (Johnson) to get the ball to Kamilla. And I told Kamila, ‘Hey, pass it to (Te-Hina) Paopao,’ and then at the last second I was like, ‘Kamila, shoot it.’”
A sizable crowd from South Carolina screamed in excitement, and Cardoso was surrounded by her jubilant colleagues. The college is located just approximately 100 miles away from the Greenville arena.
Cardoso remarked, “I was very happy my teammates believed in me.” “I didn’t play the best game I could have all evening. I was relieved that I could make the shot and lead them to victory.
Cardoso was having fun last weekend with her mother and sister, who had traveled from Brazil to celebrate her graduation day. Their first opportunity to watch her perform live since she departed the nation at the age of fifteen was this week.
The Gamecocks advance to their ninth tournament final in the past 10 seasons and will look for their eighth title in that span against either No. 8 LSU or Mississippi.
Rickea Jackson ended with 22 points, 19 in the final two quarters as Tennessee fought back from 35-12 down late in the second quarter. Her putback with 25 seconds left gave the Lady Vols their first lead of the game.
After Johnson missed a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left, Jasmine Powell got the rebound and was fouled. She missed both free throws and with no timeouts left, South Carolina went up the floor.
With 1.1 seconds remaining, Tennessee—which was not yet eligible for the free throw bonus—fouled South Carolina close to midcourt, setting up the incredible ending.
The Lady Vols added 21 points from Jewell Spear.
For South Carolina, things could not have gotten off to a better or worse start than they did for the Lady Vols.
Tennessee failed to connect on any of its first ten shots, giving the Gamecocks a 13-0 advantage. With the help of the explosive Fulwiley, South Carolina eventually took a 35–12 lead and appeared to be in control at the half.
However, the Lady Vols went on an 11-1 run to close out the second quarter and trimmed their 23-point deficit to 36-23 at the half.
BIG PICTURE
Tennessee: Heartbreak time for the Lady Vols, who had given South Carolina everything it had in three meetings all season yet lost them all. Tennessee needs the extra time off simply to get past this disappointing result.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks had not overcome a challenge like this all season and it prove fruitful as they get closer to their championship goals.
