Dawn Staley provides update on Kamilla Cardoso after injury

When Kamilla Cardoso went down with a leg injury in the Final Four, everyone in the South Carolina universe held their collective breath.

It was prior to the first half, but the Gamecocks ended up beating NC State anyway to advance to the national championship. Head coach Dawn Staley said her star was okay physically and since she was able to come back out onto the floor, she should be good to go.

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But it was scary nonetheless.

“She’s alright. She played,” Staley said. “What they were thinking when she went down. You all can answer that. I thought you wanted a medical update.”

Ashlyn Watkins wasn’t too concerned when it came to the rest of the team hoping the best for Cardoso. She was pretty happy Cardoso was able to return and help the Gamecocks to victory.

“I knew she was going to be okay,” Ashlyn Watkins said. “Kamilla is a warrior. She’s not going to let an injury like that affect her. She’s going to push and be ready for Sunday.”

Te-Hina Paopao felt the same way, crediting Cardoso for returning to action and showcasing her toughness.

“She’s not going to like this answer, but she’s a beautiful Brazilian warrior,” Paopao said. “And she’s just awesome, man. She’s going to play through some pain. That’s who she is and she loves playing the game. So she’s going to push through that. Knowing we have one more game, she’s definitely going to be okay.”

With Cardoso back on the court, the Gamecocks entered the second half rejuvenated, and made NC State feel their newfound energy. South Carolina outscored the Wolfpack by 23 points in the third to push its lead to 61-37, en route to the 78-59 victory.

Efficiency was the difference in the highly-anticipated matchup. South Carolina shot 50% from the field and 42% from beyond the arc in the triumph. In contrast, NC State only connected on 32% of its attempts from the floor and an even worse 26% from downtown.

With the win, SC is now only one game away from becoming the first undefeated Division I women’s basketball champion since 2016. On Sunday, the Gamecocks will square off against Iowa in the national championship.