Cardoso Claims SEC and National Weekly Awards
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball senior center Kamilla Cardoso was named SEC co-Player of the Week, Naismith Women’s College Player of the Week and was among the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week . Cardoso returned from representing her home country in FIBA Olympic Qualifying to lead the Gamecocks to a pair of SEC wins that tied and then broke the league’s record for consecutive conference wins (43).
Cardoso was the team’s top scorer and rebounder on the week, averaging 17.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 4.0 assists over the two wins. At Tennessee, she scored four of the team’s first eight points in the third quarter in rallying back from a three-point halftime deficit. All seven of her fourth-quarter points came in the final 3:35 to seal the victory.
Against Georgia, Cardoso absolutely stuffed the box score with 16 points, a career-high tying 16 rebounds, a team-high five assists, three blocks and a career-high three steals. She dominated the second half with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the final 20 minutes. In the opening minutes of the third quarter, her three points sparked a 7-0 run that cut a nine-point deficit to just two. She went on to post seven points and six boards in the final period to secure the history-making win.
For the season, Cardoso ranks seventh in the nation with 2.9 blocks per game to go with her 14.1 points and 10.1 rebounds, which rank her 26th in the nation. She is shooting and SEC-best 58.6 percent from the field to rank 17th in the country, and her 12 double-doubles are 26th in the nation.
In SEC awards, Cardoso shared Player of the Week honors with Ole Miss’ Madison Scott. On the USBWA list, which she has made four times this season, she was joined by Kaitlyn Chen (Princeton), Caitlin Clark (Iowa), Aaliyah Edwards (UConn) and Madison Hayes (NC State).
South Carolina is back in action on Thu., Feb. 22, hosting Alabama in a 7 p.m. tipoff at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks will have a Teddy Bear Toss at halftime, and fans are encouraged to bring a new or gently used stuffed animal (no battery packs, not in a box) to add to the donation to area organizations.
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.
