Cardoso, Paopao Among Wooden Late Season Top 20
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball seniors Kamilla Cardoso and Te-Hina Paopao earned spots on the John R. Wooden Award presented by Principal Women’s Late Season Top 20 Watch List, the organization announced on ESPN2 today. The No. 1/1 Gamecocks are one of two programs with multiple entries on the list.
Cardoso is South Carolina’s top scorer and rebounder, averaging a double-double at 13.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. She ranks 19th in the nation with 10 double-doubles and comes in 23rd in rebounds per game. Her .603 field goal percentage is 15th in the nation, and her 2.8 blocks per game are seventh. In SEC action, Cardoso has grabbed 14.5 rebounds per league game. She has led the team in scoring in a team-high six games and been its top rebounder 13 times. The two-time SEC Player of the Week has been part of the USBWA’s Ann Meyers-Drysdale National Players of the Week three times and is on the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award Top 10 list.
Paopao is the nation’s top 3-point shooter and among the SEC’s best distributors, landing her on the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award Top 10 list. She is shooting an NCAA-best 50.5 percent from 3-point range, making 2.6 threes per game to rank second in the SEC. Her 4.1 assists per game are seventh in the league, and her 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio is 24th in the nation. In SEC action, those numbers rise to a team-best 4.6 assists per game and a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. Paopao is the team’s top scorer against ranked opponents at 13.8 points per game, and she has her hands on 29.8 percent of the Gamecock offense in those games as teammates score 12.0 points per game off her 5.2 assists per game against ranked foes.
The players announced on today’s list are considered strong candidates for the 2024 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year presented by Principal. Players not chosen to the late season list are still eligible for the Wooden Award National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during the early round games. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the NCAA Elite Eight round. The winner of the 2024 John R. Wooden Award will be presented in Los Angeles in April.
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the most up-to-date information on South Carolina women’s basketball.
2024 Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List
Georgia Amoore, Virginia Tech
Lauren Betts, UCLA
Madison Booker, Texas
Cameron Brink, Stanford
Paige Bueckers, UConn
Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Aaliyah Edwards, UConn
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech
Ta’Niya Latson, Florida State
Ayoka Lee, Kansas State
Aneesah Morrow, LSU
Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina
Alissa Pili, Utah
Angel Reese, LSU
Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State
Jaylyn Sherrod, Colorado
JuJu Watkins, Southern Cal
