What we learned in No. 1 South Carolina’s exhibition win over Benedict

It’s college basketball season in Columbia.

South Carolina women’s basketball grabbed a 98-41 win in its exhibition game with Columbia’s Benedict College on Monday night. Colonial Life Arena was open for a basketball game without a capacity limit for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, and fans flocked to catch their first glimpse of the Gamecocks.

The No. 1 Gamecocks took the exhibition as a chance for their talented newcomer class to gain experience after joining a roster that returned every member of last year’s Final Four team.

Here are three things we learned in the Gamecocks’ dominant win.

Zia Cooke didn’t play, is ‘day-to-day’ with injury

South Carolina was without last season’s scoring leader Monday night.

Junior Zia Cooke was out with a right ankle injury and didn’t dress out for the Benedict exhibition. The school said Cooke’s status is “day-to-day.”

Cooke was a preseason All-SEC first team selection this year and averaged 15.9 ponts per game in the 2020-21 season.

Head coach Dawn Staley elected to start sophomore Eniya Russell where Cooke would’ve fit into last season’s starting five. Aliyah Boston, Victaria Saxton, Destanni Henderson and Brea Beal, last year’s mainstays, started in Monday’s exhibition.

Cardoso is a force to be reckoned with

Kamilla Cardoso’s joy is palpable. The Syracuse transfer kept a smile on her face throughout the Benedict game, and she had plenty of reason to do so.

Staley’s offseason addition from the transfer portal is obviously happy to be in Columbia, and the former Syracuse showed she fit right in to her home at Colonial Life Arena.

In the first half alone, Cardoso finished with a team-high 12 points, making five of her six shots and two free throws. The 6-foot-7 center also led the Gamecocks with seven rebounds and added a block before the half.

The reigning ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, Cardoso averaged 13.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game during her freshman campaign last year in Syracuse. She was the only Gamecock to reach a double-double against Benedict, tallying 18 points and 10 rebounds by the end of the third quarter.

Rivers, Johnson highlight freshman potential

Saniya Rivers took her shots, and she saw plenty of them fall Monday. The reigning Gatorade National Player of the Year was one of four Gamecocks to score in double figures against Benedict.

Rivers is in good company. Cardoso, Boston and Laeticia Amihere also scored 11 points or more Monday.

Raven Johnson, the No. 1 point guard out of the class of 2021, showed her skills as a passer Monday. Johnson tied with veteran point guard Destanni Henderson with seven rebounds. She also added 8 points.

Next South Carolina women’s basketball game

Who: No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks at No. 5 N.C. State Wolfpack

When: Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 5 p.m.

Where: Reynolds Coliseum (5,500) in Raleigh, N.C.

TV: ESPN