South Carolina forward Kamilla Cardoso was one of six players ejected from Sunday’s SEC Championship game after she shoved LSU‘s Flau’jae Johnson to the floor late in the fourth quarter.
Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley had stolen the ball from Johnson, who wrapped her up and was called for an intentional foul. Johnson bumped South Carolina’s Ashlyn Watkins while heading to her bench, and then the 6-foot-7 Cardoso rushed in and pushed the 5-foot-10 Johnson to the ground.
In all, four South Carolina players were ejected, and the Gamecocks had six remaining.
LSU was left with only its starting five players after two reserves were disqualified.
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A man identified on the ESPN telecast as Johnson’s brother jumped over the scorer’s table onto the court and briefly made contact with Cardoso before being escorted away by police officers.
Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley was screaming towards the LSU bench.
The Gamecocks led 73-66 with 2:08 to play when the dust-up took place, and the game was delayed for about 15 minutes while officials reviewed video of the incident. South Carolina went on to win the game 79-72, claiming its eighth SEC title in 10 seasons.
Cardoso is South Carolina’s leading scorer and rebounder. She hit the game-winning 3-pointer, her first as a college player, with 1.1 seconds to play on Saturday in South Carolina’s 74-73 semifinals win over Tennessee.
Cardoso had eight points, six rebounds and three blocks in 22 minutes against LSU. She will be indelible for the Gamecocks’ first-round game in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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