South-Carolina
South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso to miss UConn showdown while playing for Brazilian national team
South Carolina maintained its perfect record in dominant fashion Sunday with an 85-56 victory over Ole Miss in SEC conference play. With their 40th consecutive regular-season win, the No. 1-ranked Gamecocks improved to 21-0.
Remaining the only undefeated team in the country will be a challenge this week. Not only will the Gamecocks welcome No. 11 ranked UConn to town on Sunday, but they’ll have to play the Huskies without star center Kamilla Cardoso. The senior is traveling to her native Brazil to play for the Brazilian national team in the 2024 FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which runs Feb. 8-11.
While the timing isn’t ideal for South Carolina, head coach Dawn Staley is fully supportive of Cardoso.
“We want the best players on our team, and sometimes the best players are the best players that represent another country,” Staley said. “When we recruited her we said if there’s an opportunity to go with your national team, go with your national team. Same with [Laeticia Amihere], the last couple years she went to the Canadian national team training camp and competitions and she’s an Olympian. It only makes use feel good.
“We’ll feel the void that Kamilla leaves with us, but I’m sure all the other post players are really preparing. I think [Sania] Feagin’s been preparing weeks prior to this happening now because she knew Kamilla was going with the national team. She’s been doing extra cardio probably for the past month. And it was on her. It wasn’t something that we said go do extra, it was on her to be ready. We’ll call her number a lot over the next two games and hopefully that builds some confidence with her and strengthens our frontcourt.”
Cardoso, a potential lottery pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, is averaging career-highs across the board this season with 13.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game on 59.5% shooting. She leads the team in all four categories and is tied for sixth in the country in blocks.
In addition to the showdown with UConn, Cardoso will miss South Carolina’s matchup with Missouri on Thursday. They went on the road and beat the Tigers by 24 less than a month ago, so they shouldn’t have much trouble with that one. The qualifying tournament ends Sunday, the day of the UConn game, so Cardoso should be back in action for the Gamecocks’ trip to Tennessee on Feb. 15.
The Brazilian women’s national team is looking to qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 2016, when it was the host nation. To do so, Cardoso and Co. will need to finish in the top-three of their qualifying tournament group, which also features Australia, Germany and Serbia.
If Cardoso can lead Brazil to the Olympics, it will cap off a spectacular run that has seen her country win gold medals at the South American Championship and FIBA AmeriCup in recent years.
South-Carolina
Shane Beamer updates injuries going into Clemson game
For the first time really all year, South Carolina football is facing some injury questions. Wide reciever Jared Brown, tight ends Joshua Simon and Michael Smith all missed the Wofford game last week, forcing the Gamecocks to change up their approach offensively and play with one or no tight ends all day.
On Tuesday afternoon at his weekly press conference, Shane Beamer updated the injury sitution going into Saturday’s game at Clemson.
Regarding Brown, Beamer said “he’ll be fine” and confirmed the Coastal Carolina transfer will play in his first rivalry game this weekend. Wide reciever Vandrevius Jacobs on the other hand is out this weekend with a hamstring injury he suffered against Wofford.
Beamer did not have a further update on either of the tight ends, simply saying “we’ll see” with regards to Simon and Smith.
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South-Carolina
Keys to Success for Clemson Tigers Against South Carolina Gamecocks
The Clemson Tigers are getting ready for what will be a crucial game in Week 14 against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
This rivalry matchup is not going to disappoint, as both teams are coming into the game as Top-25 schools. For the Tigers, there is a lot on the line in this matchup.
Due to Clemson not holding the tie-breaker against the Miami Hurricanes in the ACC and the SMU Mustangs already clinching a spot, the Tigers are going to have to hope for a Hurricanes’ loss to the Syracuse Orange if they are going to make the title game.
However, due to recent upsets in the SEC, another path might have emerged for Clemson to make the College Football Playoffs. If they can beat a Top-25 team in the Gamecocks on Saturday, it could be the type of statement win that propels them into an at-large bid.
While making the CFP still might be realistic, they first and foremost have to handle South Carolina, which will be no easy task.
The Gamecocks have also had a great season, and they could present some matchup problems for Clemson.
On offense, South Carolina is a run first team. Stopping the run has been an issue at times for the Tigers, as they just recently got torched on the ground against The Citadel Bulldogs. If Clemson is unable to stop or at least slow down the rushing attack for the Gamecocks, it will allow them to control the pace of the game. That obviously wouldn’t be ideal for the Tigers.
Furthermore, on the defensive side of things, the Tigers’ offense is going to have their work cut out for them against a very strong Gamecocks defense. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik has had a very strong season and this could end up being a defining game of his college career.
Going back to the win against the Pittsburgh Panthers, the Tigers’ offense really struggled on the ground trying to run the football. If that’s the case once again in Week 14, it will fall on the shoulders of Klubnik to get the job done.
This matchup could very well go down as one of the games of the week and potentially the year, with both teams being fairly even talent-wise on paper. For Clemson, this is a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive, as a win this late in the season against a Top-25 team would be a nice last thing to put on their resume.
Overall, the Tigers are going to need to have a balanced attack and prepare to stop the run if they are going to come away with the win against their rival.
South-Carolina
South Carolina community left without police after entire P.D. resigns
The entire police department of a small South Carolina town resigned en masse, leaving the area without its own dedicated police force.
Chief Bob Hale of the McColl Police Department announced his resignation on November 21 in a social media post, citing a “hostile work environment perpetuated by a specific Councilman.”
“For months, I have endured unwarranted and malicious behavior aimed at undermining my integrity and leadership,” Hale wrote. “These actions have not only affected me personally but have also created a toxic atmosphere that has hindered the department’s ability to function effectively.”
The chief also said his department’s resources had been severely cut. The four officers under his command quickly resigned as well.
“At the end of the day, I have a family. And when my job is constantly getting threatened and certain things are getting said I’m not going to stay somewhere and tolerate that,” former McColl investigator Courtney Bulusan told WRAL.
“I’m not going to stay where I’m tolerated,” Bulusan said. “I’m going to go where I’m celebrated.”
As the town seeks new officers, the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office will fill in for the department police force, according to South Carolina Public Radio.
The town has gone through six chiefs in the past four years. Hale’s tenure in the position lasted little over a year.
“I feel unsafe. Very unsafe,” resident Lisa Bowen told local outlet WPDE. “Because anytime anybody could do anything.”
“They jump ship back and forth all the time,” Mayor George Garner told the Post and Courier newspaper. “This is nothing new.”
The paper reported that the councilman in question denied he had harassed any of the officers and told the paper the allegations were “hearsay.”
Such mass resignations, while uncommon, are not unprecedented.
The entire police force of Geary, Oklahoma, resigned earlier this month, Fox News reports.
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