South Carolina women's basketball smothers No. 5 LSU for a 66-56 win

No. 2 South Carolina shut down the nation’s third-ranked scoring offense for a 66-56 win over No. 5 LSU

The Gamecocks broke open a tight rock fight with an electric 26-second outburst in the third quarter. 

Te-Hina Paopao drove for a baseline layup. Then Sania Feagin stole a pass on the other end and found Raven Johnson for a layup. Johnson then stole the inbounds pass for another layup. 

“Sania, she was dribbling down the court and I was like ‘Alley! Alley! Just throw it in the air!’” Johnson said. “I got it and I tried to fake. Then I stole the ball and laid it up again and I heard the crowd was screaming. It’s things like that I love to see at CLA.”

Combined with two Chloe Kitts field goals, the 8-0 run gave South Carolina a nine-point lead that LSU could never overcome. 

“Turnovers at the wrong time,” Kim Mulkey said. “Turnovers. We had critical turnovers, maybe a couple of them were back-to-back. I think momentum shifted there.”

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The Tigers pulled within five points once, but then Joyce Edwards scored four points during a 6-1 run that gave South Carolina a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter. 

South Carolina led by as much as 13 in the fourth quarter, and LSU never got closer than seven points.

LSU entered the game averaging 90.6 points, third-most in the country, and shooting 48.9%, seventh in the NCAA. The Tigers’s season-low for points in a game was 73, and their worst shooting game was 32.9%.

The key word is “was.” 

LSU managed just 56 points on 29.9% shooting. The worst offenders were LSU’s top three scorers, Flau’Jae Johnson (6-18), Annesah Morrow (6-19), and Mikaylah Williams  (5-17).

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LSU missed 14 straight over a five-minute period in the second quarter. Then the Tigers missed 12 straight over nearly nine minutes in the second half.

“I think we’re pretty locked in. They really are connected. They understand that we’re pretty good, they do. And they understand why we’re good. Our gap defense is good. Our scramble out when teams get out ahead in the possession, and then we’ve just got to fight. To go get the basketball,” Dawn Staley said. “Our grit was great.”

Both teams started the game hot, shooting 50% or better in the first quarter. LSU made six of its first eight shot attempts, including a pair of threes, and had 14 points less than five minutes into the game.

The Tigers used that early offense to run out to a 22-15 lead late in the first quarter. But then both offenses cooled and the Gamecock defense took over. 

“I think it was tough defense both ways. I think we were also missing some things we don’t usually miss,” Bree Hall said. “I think that was the biggest thing was missing easy shots and tough defense on both sides.”

LSU didn’t score for nearly four minutes. During that time, the seven-point lead became a one-point deficit. The teams traded the lead over the next couple of minutes and the LSU’s scoring punch disappeared.

South Carolina held LSU without a field goal over the final 5:04 of the second quarter. LSU mustered just eight points in the quarter, the first time the Tigers had been held to single digits in a quarter all season. South Carolina wasn’t much better, shooting just 3-17, but the Gamecocks managed to take a 33-30 halftime lead.

“It wasn’t an entertaining game from an offensive standpoint,” Mulkey said. “Just two teams that are very talented going at it.”

South Carolina’s offense struggled most of the game too, or the game would have been a blowout. The Gamecocks started 3-12 on layups and finished just 12-28. They were 2-13 from three despite getting repeated wide-open looks, and shot just 37.1% for the game, plus 69.2% from the line.

“I’m looking at them play and it’s not really us offensively, and then defensively I thought we gave a gritty performance,” Staley said. “We just locked in and continued to fight.”

Joyce Edwards led South Carolina with 14 points, and Sania Feagin had 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two steals. Tessa Johnson had nine points, and MiLaysia Fulwiley had eight, all in the first half. Raven Johnson tied her career-high with five steals.

Morrow finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds, getting a lot off her own misses. Johnson and Williams each had 13 points.

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Notes:
South Carolina has won 17 straight against LSU. … Joyce Edwards made a layup with 11 seconds left as South Carolina was trying to run out the clock. The otherwise inconsequential basket kept alive South Carolina’s streak of 13 consecutive double-digit wins. … Joyce Edwards made just 4-8 free throws. She entered the game shooting 80.3% from the line. … Maryam Dauda played 1:08 and had a block. … South Carolina went 18-26 from the line. LSU was 7-9. … Rapper Plies sat courtside and was on the receiving end of a couple of LSU turnovers. … Former Gamecock wide receiver Xavier Legette also sat courtside. … Dawn Staley’s outfit: Staley wore an all-garnet Gucci sweatshirt and pants for the “garnet out.” Kim Mulkey dressed as outer space. … Announced attendance was 18,000. It was the third straight sellout and fourth of the season. … South Carolina’s next game is Monday at Tennessee.

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