South Carolina women's basketball: Kamilla Cardoso and MiLaysia Fulwiley lead rout of #10 Notre Dame

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The new Gamecocks looked a lot like the old Gamecocks in a season-opening 100-71 win over #10 Notre Dame: they rebounded, played defense, and dominated their opponent.

In her first game as South Carolina’s centerpiece, Kamilla Cardoso had 20 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks in just 24 minutes. In the pivotal third quarter, South Carolina put the game out of reach by repeatedly getting the ball to Cardoso, and Notre Dame had no answer.

“Kamilla’s our dominant post,” said Dawn Staley. “She’s a great target in there and she delivered. She missed a lot of layups in the first half and she corrected that.”

As dominant as Cardoso was, it was a pair of freshmen that stole the show. Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo had 13 points in the first quarter and finished with a game-high 31. But as good as she was, Hidalgo was still overshadowed by MiLaysia Fulwiley. 

Fulwiley had 17 points, six assists, and six steals. She announced herself with a spectacular behind-the-back layup that almost immediately went viral (even Magic Johnson was impressed), and followed it up with steals, passes, blocks, and more layups that never relaxed the “wow” factor.

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“It’s not as easy as it looks on TV,” Fulwiley said. “I’ve been practicing for this moment. All the mistakes I made in practice, it just helped me in the game.”

“I said she’s a generational talent, and that’s what I meant,” said Staley, who added she never had the gall to try some of Fulwiley’s moves.

Both teams came out on fire, shooting over 60% for most of the first quarter. They finished the first quarter hitting 9-18 from the floor and Notre Dame held a 25-24 lead. For South Carolina, it was just the feeling-out period.

In the second quarter, the Gamecocks got back to the thing that has been their calling card for 16 seasons under Dawn Staley: defense. They had four steals in the first four minutes and got the fast break clicking. The turnovers sparked a 14-2 run, and then the Gamecocks started pounding the ball inside.

South Carolina held Notre Dame to 4-15 shooting in the second quarter, forced seven turnovers and outrebounded the Irish 14-7 to build a 48-33 halftime lead.

The Gamecocks never let up. Over the final three quarters, they shot 56% and held the Irish to 28%. Overall, South Carolina finished with 26 points off 18 Notre Dame turnovers, 30 fast break points, and 70 points in the paint. The Gamecocks had 29 assists on 43 baskets.

“They really worked extremely hard and the ball-sharing was incredible,” Staley said.

Ten of the eleven Gamecocks scored, and eight had at least seven points. Te-Hina Paopao matched Fulwiley with six assists, and Raven Johnson led the way with seven. Paopao and Johnson also finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively. 

“The chemistry that they’re building is pretty special,” Staley said.

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Notes:

Chloe Kitts started at forward and finished with seven points, two assists, and two blocks. … All eleven Gamecocks played. Only Sakima Walker did not score. … Sahnya Jah got her first career points on a layup to end the third quarter. … Tessa Johnson got her first point on a fourth-quarter free throw. … Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld each had 12 points for Notre Dame. … Dawn Staley wardrobe update: Staley wore standard-issue Under Armour Gamecock warmups over a “Body by Binetti” t-shirt. … Announced attendance was 3,203. … South Carolina’s next game is Sunday against Maryland.

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