Well, how about that? South Carolina women's basketball won an absolute miracle of a game against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinals, blowing a 23-point lead only for Kamilla Cardoso to attempt her first 3-pointer in four years and bury it at the buzzer to give the Gamecocks a 74-73 win.
Here's all the quotes from the locker room about it:
Kamilla Cardoso:
Do you practice that shot?:
"Yeah, we practice them every day after shoot around."
On how often she makes it:
"Not often, at all."
On if the play was for her:
"I'm not going to lie to you, I don't know. I just kind of looked and was like, what was I supposed to do?"
On the feeling:
"It's amazing. I feel like I worked really hard all season and our job isn't finished, and we didn't want to lose the game, we wanted to win. I tried to do everything I could to win the game for my teammates."
On if she knew it was good:
"I didn't know it was good until I saw the ball dropping on the floor."
On doing that in front of her family:
"It's amazing. It's like the first time they were in the USA, the first time they were watching me play, so I was really happy. I was really happy and just gave them a hug."
Said it was both the best moment of her basketball career and her favorite."
Sakima Walker
On how many times she's seen Kamilla try that:
"I've seen her hit it pretty much every day in practice. We get extra shooting in, we shoot 3s, mid-range, pretty much from everywhere on the floor. She's practiced hitting halfcourt shots in practice from the sideline, and she hits them pretty much every day. So it was nothing to her."
On the emotions on the bench before the shot:
"Honestly we just all game together and were like, we've all just got to lock in. This is the moment right here. I feel like we met the moment, like with Lay getting a rebound and pushing the ball up the floor helped us, too."
On if she knew the shot was good:
"Absolutely. I knew it was good. I could tell by her feet. Just the way when she got back in line, it's something that shooters do. They know a shot is good. I saw her do that, and I knew it was good."
Walker also said she hit a similar shot in the JUCO National Championship game a couple years ago, although I'm going to have to do some digging on that when I have a little more time.
Chloe Kitts
On how much she's seen Kamilla practice that:
"We split up between guards and posts and we shoot 3s at practice. Coach Boyer makes us shot threes, so I see her shot it every day. She's a pretty good three-point shooter, and I"m just so happy that she made it, especially when it mattered the most."
On the playcall:
"It was supposed to go to Pao. Kamilla saw that Pao was being covered and just shot it."
On the mood on the bench before it:
"Quiet. We were like, 'damn, we just lost.' It was just surreal, we didn't know how to feel. And then after she made it we were just in shcock. We're still in shock. It's crazy. We could've lost, but I'm just so happy we didn't, and I'm just so happy she made that shot."
On the lesson from today:
"We don't ever want to feel like that again, so we just need to play together, stay together and finish out the season strong and win at the end of the day."
On the second half:
"I feel like Rickea and Jewel, they kept hitting their shots, getting to the basket. Our defense could've been better and then it wasn't."
Sania Feagin
On what went through her mind when she saw Kamilla catch it:
"I knew it was going in."
On how often she makes that shot:
"Very often, because we shoot it a lot after practice. We stay back and we shoot them with Boyer."
On the shot, short and sweet:
"She put her foot behind that line and she shot the ball."
On the mood on the bench before the shot:
"A lot of my teammates were scared, and I was like, 'The lord said no fear.' And I just sat back and just let the game do what it does. You can't have any fear, you have to trust."
On the lesson from today:
"Don't let it happen today, that's the real lesson. Don't let the game come out of our hands like it did."
On what happened in the second half:
"I just feel like we took our foot off the gas, instead of pressing harder we took it off and gave them some momentum and gave them the energy to think they could play with us, and we gave that to them. We just finished it off strong."
Raven Johnson:
On what was going through her mind when Kamilla caught it:
"I was so shocked. She's never shot a 3 before. When she shot the 3 I was like, 'What in the world? This is crazy.' I was so excited for her, just to see her have that confidence to shoot the 3, and that just tells you about the work she put in the off-season and the work she put into her shot, because she was so confident shooting that shot. And then when she shot the shot I was like, 'Wow. It went in!' Everyone just started jumping.
On how often she works on it:
"She does, with Boyer. She works with her every day after practice shooting that shot, so I think it was just like a habit. She just stepped into a shot. I don't even think she knew she was going to shoot it, I think she was surprised. I'm just proud of her."
On the mood on the bench before the shot:
"Coach didn't think it was over, she told us, 'we got this, we got this!' And if she's comfortable and confident the game's not over, then why should we stress? Because coach knows the ins and outs of winning a national title and a conference title."
On if she was surprised Tennessee fouled:
"I was very surprised. They were up and they fouled MiLaysia, and it didn't make sense to me. You're up, why would you foul someone at halfcourt?"
On the lesson from today:
"We've got to keep our foot on the gas. We had them up in the first quarter, we just have to keep our foot on the gas. I think it's more of a faigue thing for us. We just need to come back tomorrow with a chip on our shoulder."
Ashlyn Watkins:
On if she knew it was going in:
"No, I didn't know it was going in, but I'm glad it went in."
Said she didn't know where the play was supposed to go, "just get the ball in and just shoot it" was her mindset.
On Kamilla practicing that shot:
"She makes them all the time. It's not unfamiliar to her, she just doesn't shoot them in the game."
On what she saw from the shot:
"I don't think she knew it was going in. She asked me what the playt was, and I was like, 'You're about to get the ball.'"
Said she's never been involved in a moment like that in her basketball career.
On the lesson from today:
"Don't get in that predicament again. We've just got to execute and play as a team defensively and offensively."
Te-Hina Paopao:
On if the play was supposed to go to her:
"It was, and then it was kind of interesting because I knew they were going to play really close to me. It was very surprising to see them play off of Kamilla that much, because 1.1 is a lot of seconds. It felt like 10 seconds when 'Milla was setting her feet up like that and getting in the shooting pocket. It was kind of shocking to see them sag off her. It doesn't matter who it is, but it was just a great sight to see and I'm very happy for Kamilla before that."
On if she was surprised Tennessee fouled:
"I was surprised. I'm happy they did, I think everyone is happy they did. It definitely gave us some life."
On her confidence when Kamilla shot it:
"I was like, 'Oh, that better go in.' They practice that though, I'm sure you've heard that. But it's not normal to see a 6-foot-7 post player hit a 3."
"Now she's 1-for-1, 100 percent, so I hope they label her as the best 3-point shooter in the nation. I'm just really happy for her to do that in front of her family as well."
Bree Hall:
On if she thought it was going in:
"I was a little scared, but I'm glad that it went in."
On how much she practices it:
"She does shoot those 3s, and according to me teammate right here (pointing to Sania Feagin), she knocks them down."
On Kamilla:
"She's 100 percent. She's got it. She's the best shooter in the world."
On the feelings on the bench before that shot:
"There were a lot of doubts, but according to my teammates who were out there on the court they were telling me Te-Hina was telling them there was a lot of time left, 1.1 still left, don't lose hope."
On if she was surprised Tennessee fouled:
"Yes, kinda sort. To be honest I don't really remember, I was just praying that we won."
On the lesson from this game:
"The biggest lesson would be we do not need to be back in that situation ever again."
Said they have to be more disciplined on defense and not let their foot off the gas.
Tessa Johnson:
On her feeling when Kamilla shot it:
"I was praying that it was going in, and I had faith in Kamilla. I didn't know. but I'm sure glad it went in. That's all I can say."
On the mood on the bench before the shot:
"Well, we were very nervous, but again negativity will spread, so we were all like, 'We got it.' There's time on the clock, there's hope and we got it."
On the Tennessee foul the play before:
"Yes, I was surprised. Honestly, I think she got fouled on the shot. But either we we won."
On what her immediate thought was on the shot:
"I was like, 'No way.' And then I was like thank you God, and then I sprinted over to Kamilla."
On what happened to lose the lead;
"I think we got a little undisciplined, that's what coach was saying in the locker room. And we were taking unexpected shots, which let them get in a groove. Basketball is a game of runs, and they had a very long run."
