It was a battle of the unbeaten early Sunday afternoon as the South Carolina Gamecocks hosted Kim Mulkey and her Tigers squad in a premiere SEC matchup. LSU was tested early and often, but couldn’t overcome large deficits as South Carolina remains undefeated with an 88-64 win.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
South Carolina took the early lead and we’re up 18-2 midway through the first quarter. Zia Cooke made the first basket three seconds into the contest with a layup as Aliyah Boston assisted on the play. Cooke along with Boston, Kierra Fletcher, and Brea Beal combined to make eight out of their first nine shots in that run.
LSU cut down the deficit with an 11-1 run over the next three minutes as Alexis Morris and Last-Tear Poa were able to help get the Tiger to within six points with 2:07 left. Morris made one last jump shot as the opening frame ended with the Gamecocks up 24-15.
Morris also made LSU’s first four buckets in the second quarter to make it become a five-point game with six minutes left. South Carolina have themselves many opportunities by getting rebounds on offense and defense.
As they headed into halftime, LSU was down 42-32 with South South Carolina shooting over 50 percent from the floor and out-rebounding the Tigers 21-11, has missed eight out of 15 free throw attempts compared to LSU making five out of six.
Coming out of the break, Angel Reese started to get involved in the game as she grabbed a couple of boards, blocked a shot, and made a couple of shots. LSU at that point was down 49-42 with 6:26 left in the third.
In the final four and a half minutes of the quarter, the Gamecocks went on a 15-6 run. Cooke and Kamilla Cardosa combined for eight as South Carolina as was up 64-48 headed into the fourth quarter.
LSU’s deficit became larger in the final frame as the Gamecocks outscored them 24-16. South Carolina handed the Tigers their first loss of the season with an 88-64 win on Sunday afternoon.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kamilla Cardosa
Cardosa had an efficient shooting night as she made seven out of nine shots for 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as South Carolina defeated LSU 88-64.
BIG NUMBER: 43
The Tigers were not their usual selves as they were out-rebounded by South Carolina 43-25 and allowed the Gamecocks to grab 14 offensive boards.
UP NEXT: The LSU women will be back in the comforts of the PMAC on Thursday, February 16th to play Ole Miss. Tip-off is set for 8:00.