The No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball team advanced to the SEC Tournament Championship by defeating the Tennessee Volunteers 74-73 on Saturday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
Despite a late comeback from the Volunteers, the Gamecocks secured the victory on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by senior center Kamilla Cardoso.
South Carolina started the game off on the front foot, surging to an early 13-0 lead while forcing the Volunteers to miss its first 10 field goal attempts.
The Volunteers eventually settled into the game, however, going on several scoring runs to keep the Gamecocks from building on its lead. South Carolina's lead was 12 points heading into the fourth quarter, but the Gamecocks were outscored 25 to 14 as Tennessee took a 73-71 lead with 24.5 seconds left.
The Gamecocks had one final chance to retake the lead with 1.1 seconds remaining in the game, and the team made the most of it. Sophomore guard Raven Johnson launched a pass from behind the half-court line to Cardoso, who took a shot at the top of the key and behind the 3-point line, converting it to win the game 74-73.
The 3-point attempt was Cardoso's first as a Gamecock and the first made 3-pointer of her collegiate career. She would finish the game with 13 points, 7 of which came in the fourth quarter, and five rebounds to go along with her game-winner.
"I just told Raven to just throw it high to Kamilla," head coach Dawn Staley said. "At the end, before, I told Kamilla, (I) yelled at her and said, 'shoot it.' I added some more words to that, but I can't say it right here."
Johnson played the entire second half and contributed in a variety of ways. She hit one of South Carolina's four 3-pointers along with her assist to Cardoso on the game-winning shot.
"Coach drew up the play, and I just follow her guidelines," Johnson said. "I mean, I trust her, and coach told Kamilla 'shoot the ball,' and Kamilla shot the ball with confidence. And that's (associate head coach Lisa) Boyer — Boyer works with her every day on her shot, and so it translates to the game."
Johnson would finish the game with 11 points, and she led the team with four assists and seven rebounds.
The Gamecocks' two freshman guards — MiLaysia Fulwiley and Tessa Johnson — were also key in the team's win. Both helped South Carolina get out to a 36-23 lead at the half and were the team's two leading scorers at the break.
Fulwiley finished the game with 13 points, which tied Cardoso for the most on the team.
"I feel like I was just giving what the defense gave me and just staying poised throughout the whole game," Fulwiley said. "I'll usually get speed up, so I just told myself that I was going to stay calm and stay poised today, and it worked out in my favor."
South Carolina also utilized its depth throughout the game. In the first half, South Carolina had 23 bench points, while Tennessee had 23 total points. The Gamecocks had 33 of its 74 points come from its bench by the end of the game.
"One of the keys to each and every one of our games is our bench production, and we pride ourselves on it, obviously, because we've got a lot of players that could be starters in other programs, but they choose to come to South Carolina," Staley said. "I don't think they choose to come off the bench, but they choose to take a role in which they could be equally as effective."
The Gamecocks also demonstrated its ability to rebound and generate second-chance scoring opportunities. South Carolina grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and scored 18 points off of them. In total, the team out-rebounded Tennessee 41-34.
South Carolina (31-0, 16-0 SEC) will face off against No. 2 seed LSU in the SEC Tournament Final on Sunday. The game will tip off at 3 p.m. and be broadcast on ESPN.