untitled-design-2024-04-07t175039-201.png
Getty Images

CLEVELAND -- Kamilla Cardoso might not have gotten the same star treatment as other players this season, but the South Carolina senior made sure she stole the spotlight on Sunday to say goodbye to college basketball in the best possible way -- by winning a national championship.

The Gamecocks (38-0) wrapped up a historic season by becoming the 10th championship team to go undefeated after their 87-75 win against Iowa. Cardoso's presence was the difference as much as anything on the march to the title, and she was recognized as the tournament's most outstanding player for her efforts.

At 6-foot-7, South Carolina's starting center has been one of the toughest matchups for any opponent this season. Described affectionately by teammate Te-Hina Paopao as "a beautiful Brazilian warrior," Cardoso put up 15 points, had a career-high 17 rebounds, and gave the Hawkeyes fits when she was on defense. 

Cardoso had injured her right knee during Friday's Final Four matchup against NC State, but she said there was no way she was going to let that affect her or her team during the biggest game of the season.

"I got a lot of treatment between yesterday and today," Cardoso said Sunday evening. "But I don't think it really affected me today. I was just able to go out there and play. I want to play for this team and for our coaches."

And she certainly played her heart out during her final collegiate appearance. She went 7 of 14 while grabbing those 15 points, and seven of her 17 rebounds were on the offensive glass. She also added two assists, three blocks while owning the paint at both ends of the floor. 

"I think just trying to get the post-ups and my teammates finding me and giving me the ball, even though I didn't shoot really good tonight," she said. "I think just by -- we just move the ball really good, and they were able to find me while I was open."

The Gamecocks won the battle in the paint, outscoring the Hawkeyes 48-32 and outrebounding them 51-29. Iowa had been the top offensive team in the nation all season and they did score a good number of points, but the champs made them work for every single one of them.

"South Carolina is so good. There's only so much you can do," said Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder. "Cardoso has 17 rebounds. They have 51 as a team. We have 29. Hard to win a basketball game like that. You've basically got to shoot perfect at that point."

The Gamecocks have been dominating all year, as shown by their undefeated record and their impressive average margin of victory. Their depth made them extremely dangerous given that their bench players contributed just as much as the starters. Bluder highlighted South Carolina's size as one of their strongest weapons and pointed out that it goes deeper than Cardoso.

"Not only their depth, their height. I'm not just talking about their centers," Bluder said. "They're really pretty big at every position, which makes it hard. They could recover really well when we had 3s."

Starting forward Chloe Kitts, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Tessa Johnson, a 6-foot freshman guard, came off the bench and scored a team-high 19 points. 

Even 5-foot-9 guard Raven Johnson, who was on a revenge tour, did an admirable job disrupting the nation's leading scorer Caitlin Clark. Although Clark -- who became the all-time college basketball scorer this season -- did put up 30 points, she did so by shooting under 36% from the field.

It was a full team effort, per usual, and as a group the Gamecocks did an excellent job lifting each other up under the veteran leadership of Cardoso.

"Kamilla Carodoso was not going to let us lose a game in the NCAA Tournament," head coach Dawn Staley said on the court after the game. "She played through an injury. She played like one of the top picks in the WNBA Draft. And her teammates, her teammates did something than no other teammates have ever done for anybody that went to the WNBA in our program. They sent her off as a national champion."