The scuffle began after South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso shoved LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson to the ground, and resulted in six ejections

Angel Reese Says She Had to Walk Away from Fight That Broke Out During SEC Championship Game

LSU’s Angel Reese is speaking out after a fight broke out between her teammates and South Carolina players during the SEC Women’s Tournament championship game.

The college basketball star, 21, did not participate in the fight, which broke out in the fourth quarter of the Sunday game and resulted in the ejection of six players.

On Monday, she shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) explaining her decision to “walk away.”

“As a person at my STATUS, sometimes you have to walk away from certain situations,” the LSU star wrote, before noting that she was also grappling with an injury when the scuffle occurred.

“Mind you the play before that I had rolled my ankle AGAIN and was already walking to the bench,” she wrote. “I ALWAYS ride for mine. I’m super proud of this team & super excited for march. #geauxtigers.”

The fight began after South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley stole the ball from LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson, who then grabbed her and was called for an intentional fall.

While heading to the bench, Johnson bumped South Carolina’s Ashlyn Watkins, whose teammate Kamilla Cardoso then stepped in, shoving Johnson to the ground.

Following the fight, Cardoso was ejected. The five other players who were ejected — all for leaving the bench area — were South Carolina players Chloe Kitts, Tessa Johnson and Sakima Walker, and LSU players Aalyah Del Rosario and Janae Kent, ESPN reported.

Angel Reese #10 of the LSU Lady Tigers shoots a basket against Sania Feagin #20 of the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second quarter during the championship game of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 10, 2024

Only LSU’s five starters, including Reese, remained after the ejections, per ESPN.

On Monday, Cardoso addressed her involvement in the fight on X, writing, “I would like to extend my sincerest apologies for my actions during today’s game.”

“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,” she continued. “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.”

Addressing the tussle in a Sunday press conference, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey said 6-foot-7 Cardoso getting involved in the fight — and specifically, pushing 5-foot-10 guard Johnson — was “uncalled for.”

The LSU Lady Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks run onto the court during a bench clearing altercation in the fourth quarter during the championship game of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 10, 2024

The fight that broke out during at the 2024 SEC Women’s Tournament championship game.EAKIN HOWARD/GETTY

“It’s ugly. It’s not good. No one wants to be a part of that. No one wants to see that ugliness,” Mulkey said of the fight. “But I can tell you this: I wish she would have pushed Angel Reese. Don’t push a kid.”

“Don’t push somebody that little,” she added. “That was uncalled for in my opinion. Let those two girls that were jawing, let them go at it.”

In her own press conference, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley also addressed the fight, and specifically star player Cardoso’s actions.

“I haven’t been to the locker room yet, but I mean Kamilla understands. She really understands,” the coach said. “I think if you talk to Kamilla about things, she’d probably say she let her emotions get the best of her, and she’s got to handle them better.

“She’s got to be better,” Staley continued. “She’s that important to our team, that important to the state of women’s basketball. Kamilla’s a star, and we just really can’t have her in a position where she’s in the locker room for anything other than halftime in the basketball games.”