South Carolina coach Dawn Staley sounds confident the Gamecocks will get a key piece back, with the women’s basketball boss saying she expects star center Kamilla Cardoso to play Sunday vs. Kentucky.
“I do [expect her to play], but we’re going to see how it is,” Staley said Thursday to reporters. “For Kamilla, she played in a game on Sunday against Ole Miss, took a flight to Brazil, practiced two-a-days with them, played a game every day. I mean, she played basketball every day. It’s tough. It’s tough.”
Cardoso, of course, missed two games earlier in the month while competing with Brazil’s national team during Olympic qualifying. She also missed South Carolina’s last game against Alabama with soreness.
Staley acknowledged Cardoso’s difficult schedule has her reticent to rush the center back to the court for the Gamecocks. South Carolina won games against Missouri and UConn earlier in the month without Cardoso, and defeated Alabama Thursday missing her as well.
REQUIRED READING: Kamilla Cardoso to rest for South Carolina women’s basketball, won’t play against Alabama
“It’s hard on the body,” Staley added. “So however she’s feeling, if she’s not close to 80-90%, we’ll sit her down for another game. But I know she wants to play.”
What is Kamilla Cardoso’s injury?
Cardoso doesn’t have a specific injury holding her out of games, but a demanding Olympic schedule and a great deal of travel brought her back to the team at less than 100%.
Cardoso played against Tennessee and Georgia before sitting out Thursday’s game against Alabama. According to South Carolina’s social media account, it was more about resting than holding her out for injury.
❤️❤️ @Kamillascsilva was a little sore after our game the other day and given all the travel and additional playing she did in Brazil, we decided to give her a rest this game ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/rfeXV9h0U7
— South Carolina Women’s Basketball (@GamecockWBB) February 22, 2024
Kamilla Cardoso stats
South Carolina is a dominant force with or without Cardoso, but she is dominant unto herself.
At 6-feet-7, Cardoso is averaging 14.1 points per game, 10.1 rebounds per game, 2.3 assists per game, and 2.9 blocks. Those are all career highs.
In her two games after returning, Cardoso hadn’t missed a step. She was named Naismith Women’s College Player of the Week after averaging 17 points and 13 rebounds against Tennessee and Georgia.
South Carolina is 26-0 (13-0 SEC) on the year and looking to go undefeated in the regular season for the second straight year. The Gamecocks lost in the Final Four last season, finishing 36-1.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dawn Staley: Kamilla Cardoso expected to play for South Carolina Sunday
