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GREENVILLE – On Saturday night, Kamilla Cardoso played heroin.
The South Carolina women’s basketball senior center hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Gamecocks a 74-73 victory over Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinals Saturday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The No. 5 Lady Vols (19-12) chipped away at the No. 1 Gamecocks’ (31-0) lead late in the third quarter and into the fourth, working until the end to take their first lead of the game. on a layup by star forward Rickea Jackson with 24.5 seconds left.
But with 1.1 seconds left, Cardoso hit a 3-pointer and sent the crowd into a frenzy. The basket was the first 3-point field goal of his career.
South Carolina will play in the SEC Tournament championship against the winner of LSU and Ole Miss on Sunday (3 p.m., ESPN) at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
After a slow offensive start on Friday in which the Gamecocks turned the ball over 10 times in the first quarter, South Carolina entered Saturday’s matchup with a renewed sense of urgency.
South Carolina outscored Tennessee 13-0 from the jump and didn’t allow a basket for more than seven minutes. In the first quarter, the Gamecocks outrebounded the Lady Vols 20-7, including nine offensive rebounds, and did not turn the ball over once to enter the second quarter with a 19-6 lead.
The Gamecocks built a lead of as many as 23 in the first half after consecutive layups from freshman guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, but the Lady Vols finished the half on an 11-1 run to push the deficit to just 13 points.
Tennessee offense lights up in second half
It was all Tennessee after the break.
The Lady Vols overturned a 23-point deficit and came back to take their first lead of the game against South Carolina with 24.5 seconds left. Jackson was especially strong in the half, scoring 19 points after three quiet points in the first half.
When Tennessee needed a basket most with the score tied and less than a minute left, it was Jackson who got it, fighting for a rebound of his own miss and making the shot.
While the Gamecocks had no particular difficulty shooting the ball, hitting 45% of their shots in the half, the Lady Vols shot 57% from the field and made 5 of 10 3-pointers to rally.
South Carolina dominates the glass
South Carolina was looking for rebounds early Saturday morning. The Gamecocks controlled the rebounding margin in the first half and finished with a 27-15 advantage on the glass.
When Tennessee got back into the game, the difference in rebounding was a big factor. The Lady Vols once again turned the rebounding margin in their favor for much of the second half, finishing with just seven fewer rebounds.
Despite being evenly matched against the Lady Vols’ height, the Gamecocks proved to be aggressors on the boards, especially in the first half. They had almost as many offensive rebounds (13) as the Lady Vols had total rebounds (15) at halftime and turned their second chances into 12 points in the half.
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