Cardoso, Paopao Named WBCA All-America Finalists
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball seniors Kamilla Cardoso and Te-Hina Paopao are finalists for WBCA Coaches’ All-America Teams, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Announced today. They are among the eight selected from Region 2 to move onto the All-America ballot.
Cardoso has already drawn All-America honors from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (First Team) and the Associated Press (Second team), and she is a finalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award. The All-SEC First-Team selection and SEC Defensive Player of the Year is the Gamecocks’ top scorer (13.9 ppg) and rebounder (9.5 rpg). Impacting the game on both ends of the floor, she leads the SEC and is 21st in the nation in player offensive rating (127.5) while ranking third in the SEC (behind teammates Ashlyn Watkins and MiLaysia Fulwiley) and eighth in the nation in player defensive rating (71.2). In more traditional stats, Cardoso is 13th in the country in blocks per game (2.55), 18th in field goal percentage (.584), 31st in double-doubles (4) and 44th in rebounds per game. She has led the Gamecocks in scoring in a team-high 12 games and in rebounding in 17 times.
Paopao has also picked up All-America recognition from the USBWA (Second Team) and the AP (honorable mention). She is a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award and was an All-SEC Second-Team selection. She leads the nation in 3-point field goal percentage t 47.6 percent and is second in the SEC with 2.4 made 3s per game. Her 79 made 3s this season rank seventh in program history and the most since Valeria Nainima made 82 in 2009-10. Paopao is ninth in the SEC with 3.8 assists per game, and her 2.31 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fourth in the league and 27th in the country. With her 11.2 points per game and teammates scoring 8.8 points per game off her assists, Paopao has her hands on 23.2 percent of the Gamecocks’ total offense (20.1 ppg). She is second in the SEC in player offensive rating at 125.5, which ranks 26th in the nation. In seven games against ranked opponents, Paopao is the team’s top scorer at 14.6 points per game and she is second on the team with 4.7 assists per game.
No. 1/1 South Carolina will play in the NCAA Sweet 16 on Fri., Mar. 29, against No. 14/14 Indiana at 5 p.m. at MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y.
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.
WBCA All-America Finalists Region 2
Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina
Jessika Carter, Mississippi State
Rickea Jackson, Tennessee
Aneesah Morrow, LSU
Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina
Angel Reese, LSU
Honesty Scott-Grayson, Auburn
Chellia Watson, Buffalo
