The 20-win LSU women’s basketball team tested their luck on the road on Friday when they traveled to Columbia, South Carolina to take on the number two-ranked Gamecocks. LSU struggled to score in the second and third quarters and was defeated for the first time this season, dropping to 20-1 on the season with the 66-56 loss to South Carolina.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
There was plenty of action and it began from the opening tipoff and Annesah Morrow got into the paint in the first eight seconds of the game. It was South Carolina who took the early advantage two minutes in as the Gamecocks went up 7-4 off of a Bree Hall three-pointer and a couple of jump shots made by Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin.
It was close through the first half and often in the opening quarter with there being six lead changes through the first four minutes of play. By that point, LSU was up 14-9 as Shayeann Day-Wilson and Mikaylah Williams knocked down threes on back-to-back possessions. And before those buckets, Flau’Jae Johnson stole the ball from Feagin to secure a transition layup.
The Tigers extended to a 20-13 lead as Morrow and Johnson scored multiple second-chance baskets late in the first. The Gamecocks cut it to a one-point game with an 8-2 over the final three minutes of the quarter. South Carolina even took the lead back on the first possession of the second period after Feagin scored on a putback layup.
LSU scored their lowest amount of points in a quarter all season in the second, posting just eight points in the period. Johnson scored five in the quarter, once in the paint and the other from behind the arc while Williams hit a jumper after grabbing the offensive rebound. The other point was a free throw by Sa’Myah Smith.
South Carolina didn’t light up the scoreboard in the second quarter but scored enough to head into the half with the lead. MiLaysia Fulwiley was the leading scorer in the quarter for the Gamecocks with six as she knocked down four free throws and hit a midrange shot off a turnover by Johnson. Tessa Johnson’s three-ball put her team up with less than two-and-a-half minutes to go in the quarter.
A shot from the charity stripe by Kitts extended South Carolina’s lead and put them ahead at the half 33-30.
The Tigers cut it to a one-point game three times through the first three minutes of the third quarter as Williams, Johnson, and Smith scored for LSU. Kitts and Hall responded with buckets of their to keep it a three-point game at the 6:32 mark of the quarter.
South Carolina proceeded to go on an 8-2 run as Te-Hina Paopao drove and scored in the paint. Raven Johnson answered with a pair of layups that occurred within five seconds of each other. Both field goals for Johnson were created by getting a steal versus Day-Wilson and then stealing the inbound pass from Smith. Tiger coach Kim Mulkey burned a timeout to stop the bleeding as the Gamecocks were up by nine midway through the third.
It was even scoring for the rest of the quarter as LSU was down 51-41 heading into the fourth.
The Tigers didn’t score their first points in the final quarter until the 7:21 mark when Williams made both of her free throw attempts. Kim Mulkey’s team wouldn’t score again for the next couple of minutes when Williams knocked down a jump shot from the elbow.
The closest LSU got in the quarter was within seven with less than two minutes remaining in the game. The Tiger offense sputtered over their last few chances to stage a comeback. Those failed chances led to a 66-56 loss to South Carolina; LSU’s first loss of the season.
BIG NUMBER: 11
South Carolina’s defense made LSU’s offense struggle throughout the ballgame as they blocked 12 of the Tigers’ shot attempts. Sania Feagan had the most blocks for the Gamecocks with three while LSU had two total blocks as a team.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Sania Feagin
Feagin did just about everything for South Carolina on Friday, scoring a team-high 12 points on 4-6 shooting. The senior forward also grabbed seven rebounds, recorded three assists, blocked three shots, and stole the ball twice as the Tigers suffered their first defeat of the season, losing to the Gamecocks 66-56.
UP NEXT: The LSU Tigers’ women’s basketball team will return home on Sunday, January 26th to host the Texas A&M Aggies. Tipoff in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center is set for 3:00 and the action can be heard on our sister station Mustang 107.1.