GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina forward Kamilla Cardoso was one of six players ejected from the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game after she shoved LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson to the floor late in the fourth quarter Sunday.
Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley had stolen the ball from Johnson, who wrapped her up and was called for an intentional foul. Johnson bumped South Carolina’s Ashlyn Watkins while heading to her bench, and then the 6-foot-7 Cardoso rushed in and pushed the 5-10 Johnson to the ground.
In all, four South Carolina players were ejected and the Gamecocks had six remaining. LSU was left with only its starting five players after two reserves were disqualified. The Gamecocks held on to win 79-72.
“For us playing a part in that, that’s not who we are,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “That’s not what we’re about.”
A man identified on the ESPN telecast as Johnson’s brother jumped over the scorer’s table onto the court and briefly made contact with Cardoso before being escorted away by police officers.
The SEC, against the usual practice at its postseason tournaments, closed both locker rooms to reporters.
LSU coach Kim Mulkey said Johnson was smart to stop Fulwiley, who would’ve had an uncontested layup otherwise. Mulkey added that understood emotions getting high at such a critical juncture of the game.
“It’s ugly, it’s not good, no one wants to be a part of that,” she said. “But I’ll tell you this, I wish (Cardoso) would’ve pushed Angel Reese. If you’re 6-8, don’t push somebody that little. That was uncalled for in my opinion. Let those two girls who were jawing, let them go at it.”
Staley, who was screaming towards the LSU bench during the incident, apologized afterward to the crowd on behalf of the ejected players, saying their emotions got the better of them.
“I know it didn’t come from an ugly place,” Staley said.
The Gamecocks led 73-66 with 2:08 to play when the dustup took place, and the game was delayed for about 15 minutes while officials reviewed video of the incident.
Cardoso, South Carolina’s leading scorer and rebounder, can expect to miss time during the NCAA Tournament. She hit the game-winning 3-pointer, her first as a college player, with 1.1 seconds to play on Saturday in South Carolina’s 74-73 semifinals win over Tennessee.
Cardoso had eight points, six rebounds and three blocks in 22 minutes against LSU.
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