Thursday night’s WNBA matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and Chicago Sky was a celebration of sorts for the South Carolina women’s basketball program, with centers A’ja Wilson and Kamilla Cardoso, two of the Gamecocks’ biggest stars of the past several years, matching up on the low post at the highest level of their sport.

For coach Dawn Staley, an otherwise enviable arrangement came with an obvious drawback. Whether it was on a given possession or across the entire game, somebody had to be the loser, an emotionally conflicting situation for someone who coached both players.

On one particular play, it was difficult, if not impossible, to keep her thoughts to herself.

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With her Sky team trailing 88-75 with 4:33 remaining, Cardoso backed down Wilson and attempted to go up for a layup over the two-time WNBA MVP, but had her shot rejected.

Proud as Staley may have been of Wilson for an excellent defensive play in a career full of them, she used the moment to stand up for Cardoso, a rookie playing in her 11th career game.

“Don’t do that to Kamilla! Do not do that to Kamilla!” Staley said in a video posted to social media. “I’m gonna fight. I’m gonna fight. I’m gonna fight. I’m gonna fight.”

Wilson, a Columbia native who played for Staley at South Carolina from 2014 to 2018, was dominant in the Aces’ 95-83 victory, scoring 31 points with six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. It was the fourth time in the past nine games that Wilson has scored at least 30 points.

This season, Wilson, who has helped lead Las Vegas to two consecutive WNBA championships, is averaging 28 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, all career highs.

She responded to Staley’s video by reiterating she was just doing what her former coach taught her.

“It’s the groans and screams in the background, but @dawnstaley always told me don’t take any plays off…now she wanna fight,” Wilson wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “sorry bookie.”

Cardoso finished the night with five points, eight rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, she is averaging 8.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dawn Staley has great reaction to A'ja Wilson block on Kamilla Cardoso