In a familiar tale, the LSU women’s basketball team faced off against the South Carolina Gamecocks once again. Despite their valiant effort, the No. 5 Tigers fell short, losing 66-56. LSU’s struggles with scoring, turnovers and fouls led to its downfall yet again.
It has been an uphill battle for LSU against South Carolina, with the Tigers not securing a victory against the Gamecocks since 2012. Under Coach Kim Mulkey’s leadership, LSU has lost all five of its attempts against the Gamecocks.
Mulkey was upbeat after the game, saying she is not into moral victories but she said she thinks LSU learned a lot and showed it could play toe-to-toe with the best team in the country on their homecourt. Mulkey pointed to LSU faults as the primary reason for the loss.
“Turnovers at the wrong time, critical turnovers,” Mulkey said.
“Maybe a couple of them were back-to-back. But I thought the momentum shifted when we had those, you know, little things like that that we’ve got to mature and grow up and be prepared for,” she said.
Originally scheduled for Thursday, the game was postponed due to a historic winter storm that hit Baton Rouge. With roads frozen over, the Tigers had an extra day to prepare before traveling to Columbia for the matchup but Mulkey said in her pregame radio show the Tigers were not able to practice on Tuesday because of the snow so they did not get an extra day in of practice.
Awaiting them in Columbia were the formidable No. 2 Gamecocks (19-1, 7-0 SEC), coming off a dominant 41-point win against No. 15 Oklahoma. Although LSU put up a strong fight, their offense faltered and they couldn’t keep up with South Carolina’s pace.
The Tigers started strong, hitting 10 of their first 20 shots, but then went cold for the rest of the game. They struggled to find their rhythm and missed 32 of their next 40 attempts during the second and third quarters. On the other hand, South Carolina took advantage of LSU’s mistakes, scoring 22 points off of 17 turnovers
“Hell, we had 28 offense boards, and you lost by ten. So what does that tell you?” Mulkey said.
“It tells you we’re not doing anything when we get those offense boards. You got to do something with them. You got to score. You got to take good shots. I didn’t think Aneesah (Morrow) did anything but what she usually does.”
Morrow finished with her 93rd career double-double but fouled out in the last two minutes.
LSU missed 11 of 29 layups.
“I thought our defense, and I thought South Carolina’s defense was good, low-scoring game,” Mulkey said.
“Both teams, you know, scattered each other pretty darn good. And it wasn’t an entertaining game from an offensive standpoint, but I didn’t think it was a boring game. I thought it was a very good game.
“We just played our man-to-man like we always do. We didn’t double-team anybody. Just two teams that are very talented going at it,” Mulkey said.
As expected, the Gamecocks showed off their balanced scoring with eight players contributing at least five points. South Carolina’s bench also proved to be a valuable asset, outscoring LSU’s reserves by a staggering 31 points.
LSU relied heavily on its star guards Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams, who combined for half of the team’s initial 30 points. However, they lacked support from their teammates as Morrow fouled out after a tough shooting night and Kailyn Gilbert only managed to score two points.
What was supposed to be a high-scoring showdown turned into a physical and messy affair. LSU went through a rough patch, missing 14 straight shots during the second quarter. They were fortunate to only be trailing by three points at halftime as South Carolina also struggled with their shooting, making just 3 of 17 attempts in the second quarter.
Despite their efforts, LSU couldn’t make a comeback and reclaim the lead from South Carolina. The Gamecocks stretched their five-point lead to ten in the fourth quarter and never looked back.
LSU’s loss marks it 17th consecutive one to South Carolina, which continues to dominate at home with 69 consecutive home court victories. The Gamecocks’ last home defeat was on Dec. 3, 2020.
“Did you watch that game?” Mulkey said.
“Are we still an enigma? Are we pretty decent? I think so too. I learned a lot about my team today,” Mulkey said.
“I learned we can hang with the best in the country. And I, I do think they’re the best in the country. I know you claim UCLA is. UCLA put it on them. But I do think, look, I don’t know that I’ve ever coached against a team that’s got 10 McDonald’s All-Americans on a roster. How do you deal with that many on a roster? And that’s what we faced today and what a challenge it was. And it was an enjoyable game to coach in. And man, was it good for women’s basketball, and it was good for the SEC,” Mulkey said.
In order for LSU to have a chance at winning the SEC regular-season title, they now need South Carolina to lose at least twice in their remaining nine games. However, the Gamecocks have an impressive record of 84-3 against conference opponents over the last six seasons.
Next up for LSU is a quick turnaround as they host Texas A&M on Sunday at 3 p.m., seeking redemption after their loss against South Carolina.
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