Johnson, Cardoso Set for FIBA AmeriCup Action
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball has two entries in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup event, which tips of on Sat., July 1, in Leon, Mexico, with rising senior Kamilla Cardoso representing Brazil and rising sophomore Raven Johnson making her international debut with the United States. Fans can follow all the action – live stats and streaming video – at https://www.fiba.basketball/womensamericup/2023.
Cardoso has been a regular on her country’s national team, helping Brazil to bronze in the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup and gold in the 2022 FIBA South America Championships, at which she was named tournament MVP. Johnson and the U.S. are looking for their fifth AmeriCup gold medal since the inception of the biennial event in 1989.
The 10-team event is broken up into two groups with the U.S. and Brazil in Group A along with Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba. Group play begins Saturday and runs through July 5. The two Gamecock teammates will square off when Brazil faces the U.S. on July 4 at 4:40 p.m. ET. The top two teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals on Fri., July 7, and the medal rounds will take place on Sun., July 9.
Cardoso enjoyed a breakout college season in 2022-23, grabbing SEC Sixth Woman of the Year honors, a spot on the All-SEC Second Team and honorable mention All-America recognition. She ranked 21st in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (3.72) and 28th in blocks per game (1.94). According to Her Hoop Stats, she was third in the country in offensive rebounding percentage (.208) and seventh in total rebounding percentage (.232). She was the Gamecocks third-leading scorer (9.8) and second-leading rebounder (8.5).
Johnson thrived in her first full season on the court for South Carolina, earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team. Her 2.37 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked 17th in the nation, and her 3.4 assists per game were ninth in the SEC. Johnson handed out five or more assists 12 times in her 37 games and led the team in assists 18 times. In the postseason, her distribution increased to 4.1 assists per game over the eight games in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments.
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the most up-to-date information on the women’s basketball program.
Brazil and United States in 2023 FIBA AmeriCup Schedule
Sat., July 1
Brazil vs. Cuba, 2:10 p.m. ET
USA vs. Venezuela, 4:40 p.m.
Sun., July 2
Brazil vs. Venezuela, 2:10 p.m. ET
USA vs. Argentina, 4:40 p.m. ET
Mon., July 3
Brazil vs. Argentina, 4:40 p.m. ET
Tue., July 4
USA vs. Brazil, 4:40 p.m. ET
Wed., July 5
USA vs. Cuba, 2:10 p.m. ET
Knockout Rounds
Fri., July 7 – Quarterfinals
Sat., July 8 – Semifinals
Sun., July 9 – 3rd Place and Championship games
