COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball seniors Kamilla Cardoso and Te-Hina Paopao are among the 16 entries on the U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-America Teams, the organization announced today. Cardoso also drew All-American recognition from The Sporting News and earned finalist status for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
Cardoso drew All-America first-team honors from the USBWA and a spot on the second team from The Sporting News. She is the Gamecocks’ scorer (14.0 ppg) and rebounder (9.5 rpg), earning a spot on the All-SEC First Team and SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Impacting the game on both ends of the floor, she leads the SEC and is 23rd in the nation in player offensive rating (126.3) while ranking second in the SEC and eighth in the nation in player defensive rating (71.8). In more traditional stats, Cardoso is 11h in the country in blocks per game (2.64), 19th in field goal percentage (.584), 33rd in double-doubles (13) and 44th in rebounds per game. She has led the Gamecocks in scoring in a team-high 12 games and in rebounding in 16 times. Cardoso was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and an All-SEC First-Team selection. She is on the current watch lists for all major national player of the year awards and is a finalist for the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award.
Paopao drew All-SEC Second-Team recognition this season after leading the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage and her 47.1 percent long-range accuracy ranking third in the nation. Her 73 made 3s this season are already 10th in the Gamecocks’ single-season record book, and her current season 3-point shooting percentage would be the second-best in program history. Paopao is ninth in the SEC with 3.7 assists per game, and her 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fourth in the league and 27th in the nation. In SEC play, her 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio this season is the fourth best in program history. With her 11.1 points per game and teammates scoring 8.7 points per game off her assists, Paopao has her hands on 23.0 percent of the Gamecocks’ total offense. She is second in the SEC in payer offensive rating at 125.0, which ranks 32nd in the nation In seven games against ranked opponents, Paopao is the team’s top scorer at 14.6 points per game and she is second on the team with 4.7 assists per game.
No. 1/1 South Carolina will start NCAA Tournament play on Fri., Mar. 22, with a 2 p.m. tipoff at Colonial Life Arena against either…