All good points. I disagree on rebounding. That leveled out.After game thoughts
1. LSU is a team getting better. Williams is a load.
2. The 5 point swing before halftime was monumental emotionally on both teams.
3. The moment was too big for Fulwiley and Watkins when they first came in the game. BUT They recovered. That success after failure is going to have amazing dividends.
4. Chloe got some real DAWG in her!
5. I said after the exhibition game against Rutgers that I was worried about our rebounding. I got beat up pretty bad over that. I think a few more people are paying attention to that now.
6. Breezy is becoming akiller
2024-2025 WBB Team (2022-present)
- Thread starter TN-Gamecock
- Start date
Pretty fair assessment
We break down the show and what it told us about both teams.
LSU led most of the game before South Carolina took the lead in the fourth quarter. How did the Gamecocks rally to stay undefeated?
Creme: More than anything, the Gamecocks remained poised. To come back on the road in that environment takes composure. Did you notice Staley on the sideline? Her expression never changed despite the game's intensity. She was calm, and so was her team. With the opposing crowd whipped into a frenzy, South Carolina was able to execute the offense the way it would in practice.
That's why the Gamecocks were able to make six of their last seven shots. Hall's wide-open 3-pointers were the two biggest. Kamilla Cardoso didn't panic when she caught the ball in the post, and the LSU defense converged. She made the right decision finding Hall, and the passes were on the mark. Hall is a 48.5% 3-point shooter on the season (she was 2-for-4 from beyond the arc Thursday). Get her open like that, and it's no surprise she delivered in the biggest moments.
Voepel: Becoming a better 3-point shooting team was a huge point of emphasis this season by Staley. That was a must-fix for the Gamecocks after last season's national semifinal loss to Iowa. And Staley has done so with personnel she added on the playing and coaching sides.
The Gamecocks were 7 of 20 from behind the arc Thursday. Along with Hall's door-slammers in the fourth quarter, the 3 that MiLaysia Fulwiley hit just before the halftime buzzer changed the tone and momentum going into the locker room. And as Charlie said, South Carolina kept its cool and didn't make mistakes. This was a game where a few miscues at the wrong time made all the difference, and those were by LSU.
In addition to Reese fouling out with 4:02 remaining, what went wrong for LSU in the fourth quarter?
Creme: That really was the tipping point. LSU led 67-65 when Reese picked up her fifth. The Gamecocks outscored the Tigers 11-3 the rest of the way. Somewhat neutralized by South Carolina's size, Reese was still the Tigers' second-leading scorer with 15 points, and she had eight rebounds.
Without the biggest threat down low, LSU stopped trying to get the ball inside. The Tigers' next five possessions were jump shots. Hailey Van Lith's 3-pointer that temporarily tied the score at 70 was the only one that went in. LSU had also dominated the glass in the first half. That disappeared in the fourth quarter when South Carolina held a 12-4 edge. Missed jump shots with no offensive rebounding was an untimely bad combination for the Tigers.
Voepel: The Tigers' offense went awry -- a credit to South Carolina. LSU scored just 6 points in the last 5½ minutes and made costly errors. Reese being out for those remaining minutes was big, but the Tigers also had a turnover by Van Lith, a failed putback by Aalyah Del Rosario and just one shot attempt by Aneesah Morrow in the final four minutes, although she led the team with 16 points and was 7 of 11 from the field.
What's one thing you learned about each team -- good or bad -- in Thursday's game?
play
Creme: Despite the loss, LSU was impressive. Except for North Carolina in the first quarter of their Nov. 30 meeting with the Gamecocks, no team has had South Carolina on its heels like this. The talent that most of us felt in the preseason was the best in the country was on display for much of this game. But that talent is relegated to the starting five. If Reese hadn't fouled out, LSU's starters would have all played well over 30 minutes. Mulkey didn't really trust her bench in a big moment. That was telling and could be an issue in March.
This game also showed South Carolina can be had, but it will take 40 minutes of execution to do it. The Tigers had about 36 minutes of winning basketball in them. Even at home, that isn't enough against the Gamecocks. South Carolina has multiple ways to win. This time it had nothing to do with the Gamecocks' dominance, and everything to do with shot-making and execution when it counted.
Voepel: We knew coming in that South Carolina had the deeper bench. It showed Thursday with the Gamecocks getting 16 points and nine rebounds from Fulwiley, Sania Feagin and Ashlyn Watkins, who combined were 7 of 10 from the floor. When you have that with a starting five that is playing really well together, it's hard to hold off the Gamecocks, even for a team with as much talent as LSU.
Kudos to starter Chloe Kitts, who had 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting and forced the LSU defense to pay attention. You can tell from games like this how much Kitts benefited from her freshman season last year competing in practice against former South Carolina superstar Aliyah Boston, who was courtside to root for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina remains No. 1 overall in Bracketology. What does this loss do to LSU?
Creme: The Gamecocks had firmly established themselves as the best team in the country. A loss on the road against a top-10 conference rival wasn't going to change that. Win or lose, South Carolina was going to remain the No. 1 overall team.
LSU had plenty to gain with a win -- a jump from a No. 3 to a No. 2 seed. That won't happen, but the Tigers won't drop, either. They showed the committee more Thursday than they have in most of their 18 wins. LSU was ninth overall -- the top No. 3 seed -- and the Tigers will remain a No. 3 seed in ESPN's full Bracketology update on Friday despite the loss.
We break down the show and what it told us about both teams.
LSU led most of the game before South Carolina took the lead in the fourth quarter. How did the Gamecocks rally to stay undefeated?
Creme: More than anything, the Gamecocks remained poised. To come back on the road in that environment takes composure. Did you notice Staley on the sideline? Her expression never changed despite the game's intensity. She was calm, and so was her team. With the opposing crowd whipped into a frenzy, South Carolina was able to execute the offense the way it would in practice.
That's why the Gamecocks were able to make six of their last seven shots. Hall's wide-open 3-pointers were the two biggest. Kamilla Cardoso didn't panic when she caught the ball in the post, and the LSU defense converged. She made the right decision finding Hall, and the passes were on the mark. Hall is a 48.5% 3-point shooter on the season (she was 2-for-4 from beyond the arc Thursday). Get her open like that, and it's no surprise she delivered in the biggest moments.
Voepel: Becoming a better 3-point shooting team was a huge point of emphasis this season by Staley. That was a must-fix for the Gamecocks after last season's national semifinal loss to Iowa. And Staley has done so with personnel she added on the playing and coaching sides.
The Gamecocks were 7 of 20 from behind the arc Thursday. Along with Hall's door-slammers in the fourth quarter, the 3 that MiLaysia Fulwiley hit just before the halftime buzzer changed the tone and momentum going into the locker room. And as Charlie said, South Carolina kept its cool and didn't make mistakes. This was a game where a few miscues at the wrong time made all the difference, and those were by LSU.
In addition to Reese fouling out with 4:02 remaining, what went wrong for LSU in the fourth quarter?
Creme: That really was the tipping point. LSU led 67-65 when Reese picked up her fifth. The Gamecocks outscored the Tigers 11-3 the rest of the way. Somewhat neutralized by South Carolina's size, Reese was still the Tigers' second-leading scorer with 15 points, and she had eight rebounds.
Without the biggest threat down low, LSU stopped trying to get the ball inside. The Tigers' next five possessions were jump shots. Hailey Van Lith's 3-pointer that temporarily tied the score at 70 was the only one that went in. LSU had also dominated the glass in the first half. That disappeared in the fourth quarter when South Carolina held a 12-4 edge. Missed jump shots with no offensive rebounding was an untimely bad combination for the Tigers.
Voepel: The Tigers' offense went awry -- a credit to South Carolina. LSU scored just 6 points in the last 5½ minutes and made costly errors. Reese being out for those remaining minutes was big, but the Tigers also had a turnover by Van Lith, a failed putback by Aalyah Del Rosario and just one shot attempt by Aneesah Morrow in the final four minutes, although she led the team with 16 points and was 7 of 11 from the field.
What's one thing you learned about each team -- good or bad -- in Thursday's game?
play
Creme: Despite the loss, LSU was impressive. Except for North Carolina in the first quarter of their Nov. 30 meeting with the Gamecocks, no team has had South Carolina on its heels like this. The talent that most of us felt in the preseason was the best in the country was on display for much of this game. But that talent is relegated to the starting five. If Reese hadn't fouled out, LSU's starters would have all played well over 30 minutes. Mulkey didn't really trust her bench in a big moment. That was telling and could be an issue in March.
This game also showed South Carolina can be had, but it will take 40 minutes of execution to do it. The Tigers had about 36 minutes of winning basketball in them. Even at home, that isn't enough against the Gamecocks. South Carolina has multiple ways to win. This time it had nothing to do with the Gamecocks' dominance, and everything to do with shot-making and execution when it counted.
Voepel: We knew coming in that South Carolina had the deeper bench. It showed Thursday with the Gamecocks getting 16 points and nine rebounds from Fulwiley, Sania Feagin and Ashlyn Watkins, who combined were 7 of 10 from the floor. When you have that with a starting five that is playing really well together, it's hard to hold off the Gamecocks, even for a team with as much talent as LSU.
Kudos to starter Chloe Kitts, who had 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting and forced the LSU defense to pay attention. You can tell from games like this how much Kitts benefited from her freshman season last year competing in practice against former South Carolina superstar Aliyah Boston, who was courtside to root for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina remains No. 1 overall in Bracketology. What does this loss do to LSU?
Creme: The Gamecocks had firmly established themselves as the best team in the country. A loss on the road against a top-10 conference rival wasn't going to change that. Win or lose, South Carolina was going to remain the No. 1 overall team.
LSU had plenty to gain with a win -- a jump from a No. 3 to a No. 2 seed. That won't happen, but the Tigers won't drop, either. They showed the committee more Thursday than they have in most of their 18 wins. LSU was ninth overall -- the top No. 3 seed -- and the Tigers will remain a No. 3 seed in ESPN's full Bracketology update on Friday despite the loss.
We outrebounded them by 18 last year. Now we're happy to to "level out." But we have more perimeter shooting this year. It's a trade off. @winloseortie was correct to identify that difference eary on. Although, I don't believe he ever fathomed us shooting so well from 3.
Yeah, I didn’t see the 3pt shooting being this good, not even from Paopao. Last year 7-20 would have been a good night. This year, it’s what wrong
"Final note: Dawn rode with her veterans at the end. But it wasn't because Fulwiley wasn't ready for the moment. She's going to be a major factor in our post-season, I think. "
Not sure who you would have subbed out of the five on the court for Fulwiley unless the opponent was very guard dominant. Fulwiley played a major role in the game. We have 11 more regular season games for Fulwiley to continue maturing. FWIW, I was really impressed how Fulwiley calmed down and contributed after the early quick hook.
I know it's fashionable to dump on HVL, but....she made a couple of costly turnovers that led to Angel Reese fouls in transition. She shot the ball too early at the end of the 1st half and then compounded the problem by not getting out on Fulwiley. Mulkey was visibly upset (she doesn't hide her emotions well). And at the end of the game, Raven took her to the basket and scored. In fairness to her, Williams shot 5/18 from the field (1/10 from 3) and hasn't gotten a bit of a pass from criticism. Williams did have 6 assists. Will Mulkey switch their roles? Personally, I would give it a try.
so my LSU game prediction was SC by 10-15. We won by 6. however, using Mike Neighbors logic/math that LSU's home court advantage is worth 8-10 points minimum, I'm considering it a win on my part 
@winloseortie @DarkCock who would you have in a rematch either in SECT or NCAAT? I think the PMAC homecourt advantage made this close but I don't think they get that benefit in Greenville (which will be a de facto home game for us) or NCAAT as it will at worst be a 50/50 split...
HVL Played better than I thought she would. But you are right about her weaknesses. She is not a good defender at all. The little things that Raven does instinctively HVL just doesn’t even get.
That said, Williams is not really a PG either. How ball dominant will she be at point? Will it move fluidly? You raise good questions that are above our pay grade.
On a side note, Mulkey has not had a true PG in her 3 years there. Unless she gets one in the portal it will have to be Williams or Velez?
Compare that to our roster that has 3 top ranked PGs and is bringing in another in McDaniel.
Too early to say. BUT Over the last 5 years we are devastatingly better the second time around
As another poster pointed out, if we meet in the SEC tournament, both teams could be looking at a 3rd game in 3 days. Depth is an issue for LSU. Plus, with the game being in Greenville, I like our chances. I have to see how both teams are playing come NCAA tournament time before I could predict that possible matchup. But, no doubt, it would be a hard-fought game.
Sometimes it's easy to forget that Dawn lost all 5 starters to the WNBA from last year's team. LSU returned 3 starters from a NC team, including one of the top 2-3 players in the country.
very telling.
LSU has played 2 games this year (Auburn, SC) that were close in the final minutes. they did not execute or play particularly well at crunch-time in either & suffered the loss in both.
While rewatching the game today, I was focused on why LSU went away from Morrow late in the game. She didn't score in the final 7:30 seconds. I was surprised to see that it wasn't so much LSU going away from her as much as it was Ashlyn Watkins shutting her down. Her defensive play in the 4th was outstanding. We were -5 with Kitts in the game, even though she led the team in scoring. That should give you some idea of how much she was giving up on the defensive end.
With 4 minutes left in the 1st quarter, Dawn took out Cardoso. LSU's lead ballooned to 10 in a hurry. They were up 11 and had the ball out of bounds when Cardoso returned and stole the inbound pass. I thought we were on the ropes there. But we weathered the storm.
It was a battle, though, to whittle down that lead. I understand why Dawn sat Cardoso. She didn't want her to pick up a 2nd foul in the 1st quarter. But if we play them again, she may need to play even more minutes. We might to like to admit it, but Angel Reese is a force. She was the only Tiger who had a plus rating. They were +10 with her on the floor. Cardoso really abused Del Rosario, as evidenced by Del Rosario's -20 while on the court.
Stanford is a team that starts two low-post players, so LSU isn't the only potential physical team we could play in the tournament. These are bad matchups for Chloe. Watkins needs to stay out of foul trouble, if we face them again. Hopefully, Feagin will continue to get more playing time. Dawn is fortunate to have options.
Kitts will have matchups that are more in her favor. For instance, this weekend against Vandy, she will be matched up against Justine Pissott, who's a finesse player.
With 4 minutes left in the 1st quarter, Dawn took out Cardoso. LSU's lead ballooned to 10 in a hurry. They were up 11 and had the ball out of bounds when Cardoso returned and stole the inbound pass. I thought we were on the ropes there. But we weathered the storm.
It was a battle, though, to whittle down that lead. I understand why Dawn sat Cardoso. She didn't want her to pick up a 2nd foul in the 1st quarter. But if we play them again, she may need to play even more minutes. We might to like to admit it, but Angel Reese is a force. She was the only Tiger who had a plus rating. They were +10 with her on the floor. Cardoso really abused Del Rosario, as evidenced by Del Rosario's -20 while on the court.
Stanford is a team that starts two low-post players, so LSU isn't the only potential physical team we could play in the tournament. These are bad matchups for Chloe. Watkins needs to stay out of foul trouble, if we face them again. Hopefully, Feagin will continue to get more playing time. Dawn is fortunate to have options.
Kitts will have matchups that are more in her favor. For instance, this weekend against Vandy, she will be matched up against Justine Pissott, who's a finesse player.
In case you missed these articles
Dawn Staley blasts Finebaum caller in hilarious exchange after South Carolina's win over LSU
Dawn Staley may not be a typical caller to 'The Paul Finebaum Show,' but she keeps tabs on the chatter, and unleashed a one-liner on Friday.
www.saturdaydownsouth.com
LSU-South Carolina women's basketball clash earns massive TV rating, beats out primetime NBA game
LSU vs. South Carolina drew a historic television audience earlier this week and was the most-watched sporting event of the night.
www.saturdaydownsouth.com
And on the flip of our big game, Coach Yo at Ole Miss, not happy about the lack of support for OM. Would be shocked if she is in Oxford next season. Some school will give her a raise after the season.
Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin slams lack of support for women's sports, asks Oxford to 'catch up'
Ole Miss women's basketball coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin called on the Oxford community to 'catch up' and show more support for women's sports.
www.saturdaydownsouth.com
They were definately deeper last season, better? We will see. And yes, they will be easier next time away from that home environment which was a huge advantage they will not get again. Ty for your thoughts though once again great domed one with the Thesaurus in hand.
LSU returned two starters, AR and FJ. Morrow, HVL and Williams are new.
Beat them on their home court in the most hostile environment imaginable. Nuff said.
I believe the poster meant 3 starters returned from last season. Poole actually started the championship game against Iowa. She got booted from the team earlier this season, though.
Anyone else get tried of the phrase " we are a young team"?. Outside of Chloe in the starting lineup? are we? Hall is a junior, Cardoso is basically a Senior and so is Pao Pao, and Raven is basically a junior, and learned on bench injured her freshman year. I just feel like this team (starter wise) has more experience than people give them credit for.
I love me some Kitts, i just knew she would be impactful from the start. Her, Lay and, Joyce next season wow.
. I love her game, get blocked, so what, go back next possession and get the hoop. Great mid range as well. Always playing well off the ball which most people don't see. She really has a "Boston" motor when it comes to that.
I tried to show you how to spell "definitely", but I suppose you were so eager to propound your weighty theory that you overlooked the lesson.
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Raven had the most rebounds. What she did was slice through the crowd toward the basket on a missed shot while most of the players were moving to the other basket. Sorry, I don’t have any video.
former Texas & early WNBA star Fran Harris has a YT channel ’Women’s Basketball Tv’. She does commentary on all things WBB . This is her next day reaction (in her car, mind you) to the LSU game. As a former player (undefeated national champ w/ Texas in 86) and neutral observer, I found her commentary interesting. she also offers some key insight about a player’s mindset playing as the hunted/ going into hostile environments on an undefeated team. worth a listen
Excellent presser with Dawn. She talks Fulwiley and Watkins being overwhelmed by big game in the first quarter. She gives them a lot of praise for coming to the bench, sitting and figuring it out. Talked how big they were when they got back in the game.
Morrow was primary defender for Kitts/Watkins and Feagin. Their stat line was
22 points on 10-13 shooting 8 reb 3 assist
Nah. It was just a different Williams that started last year and I made an assumption it was the same. Admittedly, I don’t follow a lot of WBB, especially other teams.