COLUMBIA — When senior Kamilla Cardoso was on the floor Sunday, South Carolina women’s basketball had a big advantage — literally.

Cardoso finished with 23 points, tying her season high, in the Gamecocks’ 91-74 win over Vanderbilt at Colonial Life Arena. With the 6-foot-7 center’s 3-inch height advantage over everyone on the Commodores' roster, finding Cardoso was an easy game plan for the No. 1 Gamecocks (19-0, 7-0 SEC).

“We’re really in the process of getting Kamilla just to be more dominant,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “I know she wants to be more dominant. We have to put her in positions to be just that.”

Behind Cardoso’s big night, South Carolina dominated the Commodores (17-4, 4-3) in the paint, outscoring them 48-28.

Cardoso is one of the oldest players on a young South Carolina roster, which carries just three seniors. But even as one of the Gamecocks’ elder statesmen, Cardoso — who didn’t start a game in her first two seasons at South Carolina — is learning on a game-by-game basis.

“Just as a young person, these are the most transformational years of their lives,” Staley said. “These are the years in which they’re probably going to listen the most.”

Sunday showed Cardoso’s growth, particularly as she overcame poor shooting in the second quarter to still finish with one of her best scoring performances. Her nine baskets were her most since the season opener against Notre Dame in Paris, and her early game energy helped South Carolina pick up the pace amid a slow start.

“I love when Kamilla gets going,” junior forward Sania Feagin said. “She gets going early and we all get hype and feed off her energy. It boosts our energy and confidence as she goes.”

Cardoso started the game with eight points, putting up nearly half of the team’s total in the first quarter. Her second quarter didn’t come as easily — she made just 1 of 6 shots. Three of the misses were layups under the basket, the type of shots Cardoso can’t afford to miss.

But she made the halftime adjustment. After the break, she made all five of her shots as well as all three of her free-throw attempts. Her reward was getting to relax and watch the fourth quarter from the sideline. She finished the night with 24 minutes.

“We love Kamilla,” Feagin said. “I feel like she’s opening up more to us this year. She’s a good person on and off the court. I love being around Kamilla.”

South Carolina’s team-wide offensive prowess hasn’t forced scoring pressure on one particular player; anyone on the floor is a proven threat. The Gamecocks average 90 points per game, yet Cardoso is their highest scorer with 13.7 points per game.

That has taken the pressure off the whole team, Staley said. Sunday, thanks to its advantage in length, was just Cardoso’s day to shine.

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“We barely get double-teamed,” Staley said. “That’s a testament to everyone else being able to be a threat out there on the floor. It’s great; it’s a luxury.”

Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph said her team planned to stop South Carolina’s 3-point shooting. While the Gamecocks struggled from deep, finishing 7-for-23 from beyond the arc, Cardoso’s play down low helped them work through it.

She didn’t play her best game against LSU, recording just 11 points and eight rebounds. But if there was fear of a letdown, Cardoso put it to rest.

“I was a little nervous about how they would respond,” Staley said of her team. “Slowly, we got Kamilla the ball and then our defense started making them go a little bit further on their offense.”

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Kamilla Cardoso is South Carolina women's basketball's luxury on court