GREENVILLE, S.C. — South Carolina forward Kamilla Cardoso was one of six players ejected from the SEC championship game after she shoved LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson to the floor late in the fourth quarter of the Gamecocks’ 79-72 win.

Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley had stolen the ball from Johnson, who wrapped her up and was called for an intentional foul. Johnson bumped South Carolina’s Ashlyn Watkins while heading to her bench, and then the 6-foot-7 Cardoso rushed in and pushed the 5-10 Johnson to the ground.

In all, four South Carolina players were ejected and the Gamecocks had six remaining. LSU was left with only its starting five players after two reserves were disqualified.

A man identified on the ESPN telecast as Johnson’s brother jumped over the scorer’s table onto the court and briefly made contact with Cardoso before being escorted away by police officers.

Cardoso, the Gamecocks’ leading scorer and rebounder, could miss time in the NCAA Tournament for her actions. According to the rulebook, the first time an individual participates in fight during the season, that individual is subject to a suspension from the team’s next game, including tournament competition.

The Gamecocks enter March Madness as the clear-cut No. 1 seed and the only undefeated team left in Division I, men or women. And they did it against the defending national champion Tigers and SEC player of the year Angel Reese.

It was South Carolina’s eighth tournament crown in the past 10 seasons and its 16th straight win over LSU (28-5), including all four meetings since Kim Mulkey became the Tigers’ coach three seasons ago.

Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley, who was screaming towards the LSU bench during the incident, apologized afterward to the crowd on behalf of the ejected players, saying their emotions got the better of them.

“I know it didn’t come from an ugly place,” Staley said.

The Gamecocks led 73-66 with 2:08 to play when the dustup took place, and the game was delayed for about 15 minutes while officials reviewed video of the incident.

Cardoso is South Carolina’s leading scorer and rebounder. She hit the game-winning 3-pointer, her first as a college player, with 1.1 seconds to play on Saturday in South Carolina’s 74-73 semifinals win over Tennessee.

Cardoso had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in 22 minutes against LSU.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.