March Madness is upon us and every women’s team participating in the NCAA is expected to give it their all. Unfortunately, the South Carolina Gamecocks won’t have Kamilla Cardoso in their first-round game to help them start their run toward the championship.
More than a week ago, the Gamecocks faced the LSU Tigers to determine which team will come out on top in the SEC Women’s Tournament. An incident then occurred with around two minutes left in the game when South Carolina rookie MiLasysia Fulwiley stole the guard from LSU’s Falu’jae Johnson.
From there, Johnson grabbed the ball and tried walking away, until Gamecocks star Ashlyn Watkins approached her. The Tigers guard shoved her, prompting Cardoso to come to the aid of her teammate. At this point, the center shoved Johnson to the ground, and the respective benches of both teams entered the fray.
Once order was restored after 20 minutes and the game eventually was won by South Carolina, it was deemed that Cardoso began the fight while Johnson was slapped with an intentional foul. NCAA rules dictate that the Gamecocks center will miss the following game, which happens to be the opener to the tournament, for starting the fight.
Kamilla Cardoso To Miss South Carolina Gamecocks’ First Game in NCAA Tournament
Due to what happened in the SEC Championship game, Cardoso won’t be around when South Carolina faces Oregon soon. When asked if the center is the only player who won’t be present, Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley gave a brief response in an article written by Payton Titus for Yahoo:
“They only told me her as of right now. Things could change but I doubt it,” Staley said.
This season, Cardoso has improved her game for South Caroline. Over the course of 28 games, the center averaged 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.6 blocks per contest. Furthermore, Cardoso has already issued an apology over her actions in the incident.
Ashlyn Watkins is projected to start in Cardoso’s place when the NCAA Tournament starts. After that, the center will likely return to the court for South Carolina soon. From there, the South Carolina Gamecocks are hoping to get the best performance from their star center to clinch the end March Madness with a possible championship.
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