South Carolina women’s basketball’s Kamilla Cardoso hits a desperation buzzer beater to beat Tennessee… and the FIRST three-pointer of her career is a game-winner!
- Kamilla Cardoso had attempted only one long shot in her career
- Cardoso played for her mother and sister who came from Brazil
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South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso scored a desperation shot at the buzzer to beat Tennessee on Saturday, when her first-ever 3-pointer salvaged a 74-73 victory and kept her team’s perfect season alive.
With South Carolina’s first option, Te-Hina Paopao, bottled up by the Lady Vols, Cardoso was left wide open and made her opponents pay.
Cardoso had previously attempted a long shot just once in her career as a freshman at Syracuse.
“I was very happy that my teammates believed in me,” Cardoso said afterwards.
“I didn’t have the best game I could have, all night off. I was happy that I could get the chance and take them to the final.’
South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso hits a buzzer beater to beat the Tennessee Lady Vols
Cardoso was mobbed by her cheerful teammates as the large South Carolina crowd — the campus is only about a 100-mile drive from Greenville Arena (where the game was played) — cheered.
Cardoso played for her mother and sister who came from Brazil last weekend to celebrate the last day with her.
This week was their first chance to see her play in real life since she left the country at the age of 15.
With the victory, the Gamecocks (31-0) advance to their ninth tournament final in the past 10 seasons and will look for their eighth title during that stretch against No. 8 LSU, which defeated Mississippi.
Cardoso was mobbed by her cheerful teammates as she hit her first-ever three-pointer
The Gamecocks (31-0) had opened up a 23-point lead and trailed the Lady Vols (19-12) 73-71 with 1.1 seconds left.
The Lady Vols had a chance to extend the lead with three seconds left, but Jasmine Powell, a 78 percent free throw shooter, missed both attempts to give South Carolina a chance.
“I just hate that for them,” Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said, on the verge of tears over the loss.
South Carolina secured the rebound and, with no more timeouts, went down the floor. Tennessee, not yet in the free throw bonus, fouled South Carolina near midfield with 1.1 seconds left, setting up a fantastic finish.