Why Kamilla Cardoso will miss South Carolina vs Presbyterian in March Madness first round

South Carolina women's basketball will be down one major player for its first NCAA Tournament game against Presbyterian.

Senior center Kamilla Cardoso was suspended for the one game of March Madness after being ejected from the No. 1 Gamecocks' SEC Tournament championship win over LSU and will not play against the No. 16 seed Blue Hose on Friday (2 p.m., ESPN). Cardoso was involved in a fight between the teams with a little over two minutes remaining in the game.

The incident began at half court when South Carolina freshman guard MiLaysia Fulwiley stole the ball from LSU guard Flau'jae Johnson. After Johnson shoved the Gamecocks' Ashlyn Watkins, Cardoso pushed Johnson.

The incident resulted with Cardoso's ejection and an intentional foul on Johnson. Both benches were ejected, with the exception of one South Carolina player.

Coach Dawn Staley confirmed that Cardoso will miss Friday's game but said none of the bench players ejected in the aftermath of the fight were expected to be out.

FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA tournament brackets, scores, schedules, teams and more.

Cardoso apologized in a post on X, formerly Twitter, after the game.

"I would like to extend my sincerest apologies for my actions during today’s game," Cardoso wrote. "My behavior was not representative of who I am as a person or the South Carolina program, and I deeply regret any discomfort or inconvenience it may have caused. I take full responsibility for my actions and assure you that I am committed to conducting myself with the utmost respect and sportsmanship in the future."

Cardoso is South Carolina's leading scorer and rebounder with 14 points and 9.5 boards per game. Her 74 blocks are second on the team behind Watkins.

The 6-foot-7 center was named a first-team All-American by the USBWA and a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and The Sporting News earlier this week.

Evan Gerike covers South Carolina women's basketball for the Greenville News. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanGerike.