South Carolina women’s basketball alum Kamilla Cardoso had a huge game on Thursday night. Now in her second year with the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, the former Gamecock set a new career-high mark in scoring against the Dallas Wings. Thanks in large part to Cardoso’s effort, the Sky picked up their first win of the season. Fellow USC All-American Ty Harris did not play for Dallas because of a knee injury.
For Cardoso, an efficient 9-for-13 showing from the floor led to 23 points, just the second time in her professional career that she has eclipsed the 20-point threshold. She led the Sky in scoring and was second in rebounding, pulling down eight boards. Cardoso finished the game 5-for-6 from the free throw line and added an assist and a steal. No one else in the Chicago starting lineup bested Cardoso’s +6 overall +/-.
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Following the game, veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot praised her young post player and said that the Sky should rely on her more often. “[Cardoso] needs to touch the ball a lot. I think she understands the game really well, so we need to play through her more often.”
Cardoso showed on Thursday that getting her the ball was a good thing for the Sky. After the Brazilian center won the opening tip, Chicago intentionally got the pumpkin in her hands. An immediate sprint to the basket resulted in a Cardoso bucket just four seconds into the game. She then went on to score the first 10 for her team. Showcasing the team’s game plan of feeding their star sophomore, both Vandersloot and forward Angel Reese assisted three times on Cardoso baskets.
The big game in Chicago could propel the former South Carolina star to a strong second season in the WNBA.
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During her South Carolina women’s basketball career, Kamilla Cardoso was one of the best post players in program history. Following a transfer from Syracuse after a good first year, Cardoso played a backup role to Aliyah Boston for two years in Columbia but showed enough (including an All-SEC selection and SEC Sixth Woman of the Year honor) to know that she could be special when Boston graduated.
As a senior, Cardoso was the clear-cut best player on an undefeated, 38-0 National Championship-winning team. She was an All-American and picked up some SEC and National Defensive Player of the Year love. After averaging 14.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks, Cardoso then became the Most Outstanding Player in both the NCAA Tournament Albany Regional and the Final Four in Cleveland.
