South Carolina leading scorer and rebounder Kamilla Cardoso to enter WNBA draft
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Kamilla Cardoso's career at South Carolina will end at the Final Four.
The 6-foot-7 senior from Brazil announced Monday night she will turn pro once the Gamecocks' season ends. Cardoso, the team's top scorer and rebounder, could have returned for a final season, but is expected to be a top-five selection in the WNBA draft later this month.
Cardoso thanked her coaches, teammates, family and friends and South Carolina's loyal fan base, which coach Dawn Staley and her team affectionately call the “FAMS.”
“I am excited to announce that I am declaring for the 2024 WNBA draft,” she said in her social media post.
Cardoso leads the Gamecocks (36-0) with 14.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. She began her career at Syracuse in 2020-21, where she was named Atlantic Coast Conference freshman of the year.
She transferred to South Carolina the next season, where she played a reserve role to All-American Aliyah Boston the previous two years before becoming the team's centerpiece this season.
It has been an eventful season for Cardoso. She missed four games, two of them when she joined the Brazilian national team for Olympic qualifying two months ago. Cardoso sat for two more games upon her return, feeling fatigued from the international play.
Cardoso was also suspended for South Carolina's NCAA Tournament opener after her ejection for pushing LSU's Flau'jae Johnson to the floor in the Southeastern Conference tournament championship game.
The Gamecocks have reached four straight Final Fours.
South Carolina will play North Carolina State in the national semifinals on Friday night in Cleveland.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
