The LSU women’s basketball team played hard and played well for large stretches of Saturday’s game against South Carolina. Yet, the result was the same as it has been for years, the Tigers coming up short against the Gamecocks.
South Carolina pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat LSU 83-77 in the semifinals of the SEC Women’s Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
South Carolina jumped out to an early lead as Madina Okot and Ta’niya Latson made a pair of layups. LSU’s Jada Richard hit a jumper to get the Tigers on the board and then tied the game with a pair of free throws by Flau’jae Johnson.
The two teams would battle back and forth for most of the rest of the opening quarter, but South Carolina led by four after a turnaround jumper by Latson, and then pushed to six with a Joyce Edwards layup.
Richard hit a layup at the buzzer to make it 21-17 at the end of the first.
LSU quickly tied the game in the second as Richard and Mikaylah Williams made back-to-back buckets. The two teams would trade the lead a few times in the second, as South Carolina switched to a zone defense, which frustrated LSU for a stretch.
Even with that, LSU still outscored South Carolina 23-15 in the second, as Amiya Joyner made a layup at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 40-36 advantage.
The Gamecocks came out and started the third 13-5
Joyce Edwards hit a second-chance jumper and then, moments later, made a tip-in layup, was fouled, and made the free throw. That sparked South Carolina to start the third quarter outscoring LSU 13-5 to start the period.
The Gamecocks pushed their lead to seven points two different times in the final few minutes of the third. The Tigers answered with a pull-up jumper and a layup by MiLaysia Fulwiley on back-to-back possessions in the final 50 seconds. South Carolina would push the lead back up to five as Raven Johnson hit a jumper as time expired in the third.
After South Carolina pushed its lead to seven to start the fourth, LSU answered in a big way. Joyner, Grace Knox, and Fulwiley all made layups to cut the lead down to one. After a pair of free throws by Edwards put the Gamecocks up by three, LSU responded with a three-pointer by Fulwiley to tie the game with 7:06 left in the fourth.
South Carolina seized control by outscoring LSU 6-0 in the next two minutes, and the Gamecocks didn’t look back.
BIG NUMBER: 19
With Saturday’s semifinal loss, LSU has now lost 19 straight games to South Carolina. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley moves to 7-0 against Kim Mulkey at LSU, and 9-2 overall in their careers.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: MILAYSAI FULWILEY & AMIYA JOYNER
Fulwiley played well against her former team as she had 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting, while Joyner came up with some big shots, scoring nine points and pulling down 11 rebounds.
UP NEXT: LSU (27-5) will now wait to find out what seed and region they receive in the NCAA Women’s Tournament. Selection Sunday is on Sunday, March 16th.