South-Carolina

More eyes, more scrutiny: South Carolina-LSU scrap seen as a bad look for growing women’s game

Published

2 years ago

March 11, 2024

More eyes, more scrutiny: South Carolina-LSU scrap seen as a bad look for growing women’s game

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — More eyes, more fans and more scrutiny. The good and the bad of the game has all come into sharper focus as women’s college basketball continues to grow in popularity.

What fans saw Sunday in the Southeastern Conference tournament championship was No. 1 South Carolina and LSU getting into a late-game confrontation that led to multiple ejections. Chippy play, plenty of trash talking and players thrown out — something more familiar to fans watching an NBA game.

“I just don’t want the people who are tuning in to women’s basketball to see that and think that is our game, because it isn’t,” said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, who apologized to the crowd and in postgame interviews. “Our game is a really beautiful thing.”

Not always.

Earlier this season, Ohio State fans were criticized for a court-storming incident where Iowa star Caitlin Clark collided with a fan rushing to celebrate. Last year, Clark and LSU star Angel Reese’s trash talking in the national championship game. surprised fans who may not know that the women’s game has plenty of that, just as it has hard fouls and rough-and-tumble play.

Last November, the NCAA said it was putting a new emphasis on sportsmanship after last season saw a 33% increase in technical fouls, including a 77% increase on techs given to head coaches and a whopping 193% increase on technical fouls assessed to personnel on the bench. Ejections were way up and there were at least two prominent on-court fights.

A month ago, five players were ejected during a game between Southern Miss and Arkansas State but that was an under-the-radar game. The LSU-South Carolina skirmish happened in front of 13,163 screaming fans at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena and many more watching on ESPN.

With about two minutes left in South Carolina’s 79-72 victory, MiLaysia Fulwiley stole the ball from LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson, who then intentionally fouled her to prevent a breakaway basket. Fulwiley’s teammate, Ashlyn Watkins, walked past, yelling at Johnson, who pushed her away. Soon after, 6-foot-7 South Carolina star Kamilla Cardoso ran in and pushed the 5-foot-10 Johnson to the ground as both benches emptied.

Security, officials and coaches eventually calmed things down. Johnson’s brother was arrested and faces charges after police say he jumped over the scorer’s table to get involved.

Cardoso was ejected for fighting while three of her teammates were thrown out for leaving the bench, as were two LSU players. Cardoso will face a one-game suspension, per NCAA rules, and miss the Gamecocks’ NCAA Tournament opener next week.

Debbie Antonelli, a North Carolina State Hall of Fame player and basketball analyst, said the game’s intensity at the college level has always been high.

“I think when you step between the lines you’re athletes and this is what competitive athletes do,” Antonelli said Monday.

LSU coach Kim Mulkey said she thought officials did not call a tight enough game.

“Do you realize there was only one foul called on each team with two minutes to play in the fourth quarter? Are you kidding me?,” Mulkey said. “That might have created some of that.”

South Carolina finished off the final two minutes of the 79-72 victory and then Staley took control, apologizing to fans during the trophy ceremony and in media interviews for her team’s actions.

“We talk about these things as a team, and we try as much as possible to express to them how to react in those type of situations,” Staley said. “Real time is real time. I know that anybody, Kamilla, as well as the other four or five players that were ejected, I know if they had a chance to do it all over again, they would do it differently.”

Staley said LSU’s Johnson apologized for her actions and Cardoso took to social media after the game’s end to say she was sorry for her actions and pledged to do better.

Antonelli said there is no place for fighting in any game, men’s or women’s, and believes fans understand that this was unusual, not a trend.

“It’s going to be a storyline when South Carolina plays the 16th seed (in the NCAA Tournament) and then we’ll move past it,” she said.

Staley hopes that’s the case, too.

“This is a part of it now,” she said. “So we have to fix it and we have to move on.”

___

AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Source link

Click to comment

South-Carolina

NFL Draft Injury Analysis: Jalon Kilgore, S – South Carolina

Published

9 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

NFL Draft Injury Analysis: Jalon Kilgore, S – South Carolina

The Lions may be looking for a safety within the first two rounds due to injuries to Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. That’s where Jalon Kilgore may come in. He has some minor injuries, but appears to be a relatively low-risk prospect for a team that needs to add health to that room.

Here is the excerpt of my medical report on Jalon Kilgore:

Jalon Kilgore, S (21) – South Carolina

Projected round 2-3.

Concern level 2/10

While his availability has been excellent, Kilgore has a history of hamstring strains in 2025 and 2023. If his 2024 injury is found to be also a hamstring, then happenstance becomes a disturbing trend.

With fast-twitch athletes, hamstrings are going to be very common, and generally don’t present any long-term issues. The difficult trick will be to determine if a certain player is more prone to hamstrings.

What helps Kilgore a lot is his young age.

For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Jimmy on X, @JimmyLiaoMD

Source link

South-Carolina

Motorcyclist critically injured in Longs area crash

Published

21 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Motorcyclist critically injured in Longs area crash

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — One person was critically injured in a motorcycle crash in the Longs area on Thursday afternoon, according to Horry County Fire Rescue (HCFR).

Just before 2:00 p.m., crews responded to the area of Old Highway 31 near Hidden River Road.

MORE: 1 critically injured in vehicle rollover near International Dr.

One person was transported to the hospital as a result of the motorcycle crash, HCFR said.

Officials ask that drivers avoid the area as lanes of traffic are currently blocked.

The incident is under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol with assistance from the Horry County Police Department.

Source link

South-Carolina

South Carolina’s Raven Johnson carries her grandfather’s legacy into Sweet 16

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

South Carolina’s Raven Johnson carries her grandfather’s legacy into Sweet 16

Alyssia Hamilton
| Special to USA TODAY

COLUMBIA, SC ― With the clock winding down and pressures of the Women’s NCAA Tournament rising, South Carolina senior guard Raven Johnson isn’t playing just to win. She plays in honor of a voice she can no longer hear – but that she still carries with her every time she steps onto the court.

That motivation was on full display Monday night, as the No. 1-seeded Gamecocks took down No. 9 USC to advance to the Sweet 16. Johnson earned her 1,000th career point ― what would prove to be her last point at Colonial Life Arena ― on a steal and fast-break layup that brought a roar from the crowd. The Gamecocks will face No. 4 Oklahoma Saturday in Sacramento, with another Elite Eight appearance on the line.

For Johnson, the moment symbolized something deeper – a career shaped by the memory of her late grandfather. Johnson’s family watched as she achieved the milestone, her mother, grandmother and twin brother. It was a full circle moment for a player whose journey took root in her grandparents’ home.

Her grandparents helped raise her and her twin brother, Richard Johnson. The family lived together and she often calls her grandmother “mother” and her grandfather “papa,” reflecting the impact they had on her upbringing.

“My grandparents did a really good job,” Johnson said. “We wouldn’t be playing sports if it wasn’t for them.”

The Boones introduced the twins to basketball through their church and spent countless hours training them, often pushing them past their limits. A sergeant first class in the Army Reserves, he supervised soldiers in his unit and brought that same discipline to his grandchildren on the court, being demanding, structured and determined.

“I remember being outside and he was training us and I thought it was so hard. I wanted to give up,” Johnson said. “I used to cry, and he would be like ‘You’re not going to cry in my face, and you’re not going to give up.’ It was little things like that that made me tough.”

The standard of grit, accountability and composure, is something Johnson carries today.

“She’s just a winner and she’s a great point guard,” said South Carolina senior guard Ta’Niya Latson, who also played with Johnson at Westlake High School in Atlanta. “When she’s confident, we’re confident. When she’s poised, we’re poised. It’s hard to have that type of personality and leadership on the court, but she carries it well.”

Rodrick Boone was diagnosed with stomach cancer in December 2012 and died in April 2013 while Johnson was at a tournament in New Orleans. She was 10 years old.

“I remember I shut down,” Johnson said. “My mind went blank. I was like ‘What?’ I thought he was untouchable.”

Months after her grandfather’s death, something shifted in her mindset.

“I think that’s my why,” Johnson said. “I keep going today because he is my why.”

As a child, Johnson didn’t even like basketball. She preferred T-ball and cheerleading and thought basketball wasn’t for girls, until she saw Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins and began to see herself differently.

“She was so pretty to me and I remember asking ‘Can I be girly and hoop?’” Johnson said.

She was the only girl on her recreational team, earning the nickname “Killer” for her defensive intensity alongside her brother, nicknamed “Thriller” for his offensive ability. The boys tested Johnson by playing physical and trying to push her out of the sport.

“I used to be cooking them out there a little bit, and I think they didn’t like that,” Johnson said.

She said the boys trying to make it hard on her actually made her tougher both physically and mentally.

Her grandmother, Connie Boone, said her grandfather would be proud of what Johnson has become.

“He might be crying but he would be happy about it,” her grandmother said. “You start them young, but you never know what the outcome is going to be.”

Johnson imagines the conversations she’d be having with her papa if he was still here.

“He would still be on my butt riding me, he’ll tell me maybe I need to fix something,” Johnson said. “He’ll be happy and I think he’ll be like ‘All right let’s get back to the drawing board. Let’s get ready for the next opponent.’”

She knows her papa is always watching, and she talks to him a lot at night.

“I just want to tell him that I’m going to keep pushing through even when it gets tough,” Johnson said. “He’s always telling me to push through because nobody cares. Nobody cares if you’re at your lowest, nobody cares.”

On Monday, fans chanted “Raven, Raven, Raven” as she walked off the court for the final time at Colonial Life Arena, Johnson’s moment was bigger than the scoreboard.

It was about diligence, progress and a promise kept.

With another game ahead and the possibility of a deeper tournament run, she isn’t finished. She continues to push and play for the voice that gave her a reason to begin.

Alyssia Hamilton is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

Source link