COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina freshmen MiLaysia Fulwiley and Tessa Johnson aren’t waiting around to make a difference for the nation’s top-ranked women’s basketball team.
They’re grabbing the opportunity to lead the way for the undefeated Gamecocks right now, in the NCAA tournament.
Fulwiley scored 20 points, Johnson added 11, and the pair combined for seven of the team’s’ nine 3-pointers in an 88-41 win over No. 8 seed North Carolina on Sunday that sent South Carolina, the tourney’s overall No. 1 seed, to its 10th straight Sweet 16.
“They see themselves as being integral parts of our success,” coach Dawn Staley said. “And they didn’t back down from it.”
Kamilla Cardoso had 12 points and 10 rebounds in her return from a one-game suspension after she was ejected for fighting during the Southeastern Conference tournament title game two weeks earlier. The 6-foot-7 center, a former prep standout at Chattanooga’s Hamilton Heights, missed her team’s March Madness opener against Presbyterian on Friday.