The Gamecock women’s basketball team’s ownership of the SEC continued for another season after improving to 32-0 and claiming its eighth conference tournament championship in 10 years last weekend. 

Head coach Dawn Staley and company capped off a dramatic tournament run with a 79-72 win over LSU in the championship game. It was the team’s second victory over the Tigers this season, but this contest was full of emotion that boiled over in the end. 

An intentional foul in the final two minutes led to a massive scrum of players pushing and shoving. Coaches rushed in, players left the bench and even a fan, who was revealed to be an LSU player’s family member, jumped from the stands to take part. 

“What you saw were two highly competitive teams trying to win a conference championship, and they did not handle it well,” Staley said. 

Ejections followed, leaving both benches bare for the final two minutes. Kamilla Cardoso was ejected after a retaliatory flattening of LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson. Her actions will cause her to miss the team’s first-round contest of the NCAA tournament.  

“You want them to protect their sisters, at the same time, you want them to do it in a way in which you don’t get penalized,” Staley said. “We’ll talk about it, but I know they will draw strength from it, and they’ll get closer.”

Cardoso’s absence in the first round will be a big loss for the team. Without her, the Gamecocks would not have even been in the SEC title game. 

She sent the team to the championship game after banking in a miraculous three at the buzzer to give the Gamecocks a one-point victory over Tennessee. Entering the game, Cardoso had one career three-point attempt, at Syracuse, and no makes. 

“We didn’t have any timeouts, but I knew with the players that we had on the floor, pretty much the only player that was gonna be open was Kamilla,” Staley said. 

Cardoso was unguarded on the inbound pass before her last-second heave. The Volunteers defense decided she wasn’t a threat and it cost them a trip to the championship. 

“I feel like we worked really hard all season and our job is unfinished,” Cardoso said. “I tried to do everything I could to win that game for my teammates.”

Without Cardoso, the Gamecocks will lean on her teammates. Fortunately for them, they are just as talented.

South Carolina possesses one of the deepest benches in basketball and it was on full display during the SEC tournament. 

The team’s second unit has scored the most bench points in the nation and lead any other SEC unit by over 200 points. Nine players on South Carolina see the court for at least 10 minutes a game, and they all average at least six points. 

Freshman and Columbia native MiLaysia Fulwiley put her name in the national spotlight during the championship game after having a career-best game off the bench. She scored 24 points and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

In the team’s first tournament game against Texas A&M, the South Carolina bench as a unit outscored the Aggies’ 35-12. In the semifinal versus Tennessee, the Gamecocks bench held a 33-11 advantage, and against LSU, South Carolina’s bench dominated the Tigers’ 35-8. 

All three contests were competitive. The opening-round game against the Aggies had the largest score differential at 11, much lower than the Gamecocks average points margin at over 30. 

Tennessee proved to be the toughest test. Before Cardoso’s shot, it appeared the Gamecocks were heading home early.  

The Gamecocks started the game on a 13-0 run, but soon looked vulnerable and collapsed in the second half, blowing a 23-point lead. Tennessee started the fourth quarter on a 15-5 run, bringing it back down to one possession. 

The Volunteers took the lead for the first time in the final 30 seconds, but the team got too confident before the clock hit zero, leading to Cardoso’s largest career shot thus far. 

South Carolina held the lead for most of the game except for right at the start when LSU jumped to a six-point lead. The Gamecocks went up by as much as 13 but never pulled the game out of reach. 

LSU came storming back in the fourth quarter pulling within one point in the final five minutes of the game. Raven Johnson nailed a clutch shot to end a Gamecock scoring drought, getting the team back on track. 

The Gamecocks had a seven-point lead when Flau’jae Johnson fouled Fulwiley. After some taunting from Ashlyn Watkins, Johnson threw her a forearm, leading to the Cardoso shove. Johnson's brother left the stands and chaos unfolded. 

After the police and refs sorted everything out, both benches were ejected, Johnson's brother was arrested and Cardoso was removed from the game with a future suspension looming. The game was resumed about 20 minutes later, and the Gamecocks held on for the win. 

As the confetti reigned down, the players who were allowed to stay in the game cut the nets and hoisted the trophy, but the feeling was not complete. A moment of achievement could not be shared with everyone, and Staley is hoping that sticks with them.

“It’s bittersweet. It really is. I wanted to be there for the players that were able to end the game and celebrate with them, but part of me wanted to be in the locker room to celebrate with the players who weren’t able to do that,” Staley said. “But we put ourselves in that position … hopefully it’s the biggest lesson that any of our teams have to experience.”

The Gamecocks now await their NCAA fate. The team is all but guaranteed to be the No. 1 overall seed after finishing the season undefeated. Their opponent for the first round will be decided Sunday night.