Dawn Staley defines Angel Reese fouling out as 'huge'

No. 1 South Carolina and No. 9 LSU played a fantastic regular season game on Thursday in Baton Rouge. However, down the stretch, one of the biggest stars in the sport, Tigers F Angel Reese, had to watch it end from the bench after fouling out with just over four minutes left.

Dawn Staley knew the significance of that key absence late in the game for their opponent. She said as much during her postgame press conference following the 76-60 victory for the top-ranked Gamecocks.

“It was huge, huge to get Angel out of the game,” said Staley.

Reese was second on the team in scoring, rebounds, assists, and blocks against South Carolina. She put in 15 points (7-15) while putting up eight boards, four assists, and a pair of blocks to go along with a steal. Still, with Kim Mulkey utilizing a shorter lineup, Reese’s foul trouble didn’t help the situation. She ended up playing the fewest minutes of any of the starters at 29 minutes.

Reese fouled out with 4:02 left in the game. At that point, LSU led by two points after leading for much of the game overall. From then on, though, the Gamecocks took advantage of her heading to the sideline as they closed the game on an 11-3 run. The free throws that she sent Raven Johnson to the line for tied it up at 67. Then, in the last three minutes, Bree Hall made a pair of huge threes while Johnson scored another layup and free throw to close it out.

Johnson finished the game with 13 points, second-most on the team, and a team-high of nine rebounds. While it wasn’t her mission to take Reese out of the game, Staley said she was able to do that late by being competitive and making plays that were in their favor.

“Raven is a competitor. What you saw is just her making two competitive moves,” said Staley.

“She put her head down, made a play, and made it. Actually? That was probably the game-winner to put the game out of reach,” Staley said. “I’m glad that the game found a way to repay her in that moment.”

Reese is one of the best players in the nation for a reason and her importance on the floor is clear. Staley knows it too based on how the game ended up after her night was officially over.

South Carolina survives at LSU, remains undefeated

Thursday night’s game between No. 1 South Carolina and No. 9 LSU got plenty of hype. It certainly lived up to the billing too based on how it played out in Baton Rouge.

The atmosphere was electric as the Tigers took an early lead over the Gamecocks. Still, South Carolina, as has been the case under Dawn Staley, battled back. They went punch-for-punch with LSU to stay within striking distance throughout the matchup.

A late surge helped propel the Gamecocks to the massive, 76-70 victory, remaining undefeated while handing LSU their third loss of the season.

South Carolina used a balance attack on offense, led by an impressive shooting night from Chloe Kitts. She went 6-9 from the floor for 14 points, while Raven Johnson added 13. Kamilla Cardoso was held to just 11 points on 5-11 shooting as the Tiger defense keyed in on her throughout the contest.