GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina forward Camila Cardoso was ruled out of the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game after pushing LSU's Frauge Johnson to the floor late in the fourth quarter on Sunday. He was one of six players sent off.
Shamcocks guard Mylaysia Fulwilly stole the ball from Johnson, but Johnson wrapped her around and was called for an intentional foul. Johnson collided with South Carolina's Ashlyn Watkins on his way to the bench, and the 6-foot-7 Cardoso rushed in and pushed the 5-10 Johnson to the ground.
South Carolina had a total of four players ejected, leaving the Gamecocks with six. LSU had two reserves disqualified, leaving only five starters.Gamecock We defended and won 79-72..
The man, identified on the ESPN telecast as Johnson's brother, jumped over the scorer's table onto the court and had brief contact with Cardoso before being taken away by police officers.
LSU coach Kim Mulkey said Johnson was smart to stop Fulwilly, otherwise he would have made an uncontested layup. Mulkey added that he understands that emotions run high during key moments of the game.
“It's ugly and it's not okay. No one wants to be a part of it,” she said. “But I will say this: I wish (Cardoso) would have pushed Angel Rees. If you are 6-8 (6-7), don't push someone that far. In my opinion, it was unnecessary. Leave the two jaw-clacking girls alone.”
Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley, who was screaming at the LSU bench during the incident, apologized to the crowd after the game on behalf of the ejected players, saying her emotions got the better of her. .
“I know it didn’t come from an ugly place,” Staley said.
The disturbance occurred with the Gamecocks leading 73-66 with 2 hours and 8 minutes to go, and the game was delayed for about 15 minutes while officials reviewed video of the incident.
Cardoso, South Carolina's leading scorer and rebounder, is expected to miss his chance to play during the NCAA Tournament. She hit the game-clinching 3-point shot.scored his first goal as a collegiate player with 1.1 seconds left in South Carolina's 74-73 semifinal victory over Tennessee on Saturday.
Cardoso had eight points, six rebounds and three blocks in 22 minutes against LSU.
___
Get voting alerts and updates on AP Top 25 Basketball all season long. Please register here.
___
AP Women's College Basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
