South Carolina dishes LSU 18th-straight loss

In front of a sold-out crowd at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Saturday, No. 3 South Carolina once again got the better of No. 6 LSU, winning 79–72. With the victory, the Gamecocks have now beaten the Tigers 18 straight times. LSU has not beaten South Carolina since 2012, and head coach Kim Mulkey remains winless against the Gamecocks since arriving in Baton Rouge.

South Carolina improved to 25-2 overall and 11-1 in SEC play, while LSU fell to 22-4 and 8-4 in conference action, remaining outside the league’s top four. Head coach Dawn Staley earned her 500th career victory with the program and moved to 6-0 against Mulkey at LSU and 7-2 overall against her.

Tessa Johnson scored 21 points, hitting 4-of-5 from three-point range in the first half, including three second-quarter triples that erased the Tigers’ 27-21 lead. She added two second-half layups after LSU adjusted defensively. Raven Johnson had a career night, scoring 19 points and going 8-for-10 at the stripe. She also filled up the box score with seven rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Madina Okot recorded a 12-point, 17-rebound double-double, tying her season high on the glass, and converted all four free throws. Joyce Edwards fouled out with 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

The Gamecocks led 41-40 at halftime and opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run to build an eight-point advantage. South Carolina led throughout the second half, though LSU cut the deficit to one point twice in the third quarter and four times in the fourth. Flau’Jae Johnson paced the Tigers with 21 points, scoring 14 in the first half, but went 2-of-6 at the line, missing two free throws with 45.5 seconds left and LSU behind 73-72. The Gamecocks responded with an Okot fadeaway with 25.5 seconds remaining and closed the game by hitting their free throws, finishing 15-of-17 at the stripe compared to the Tigers’ 14-of-23.

LSU won the rebounding battle 46-37, with Amiya Joyner grabbing 13 boards, and shot 40.0% overall. However, the Tigers converted just 29.3% in the second half, went 7-of-25 in the fourth quarter, and missed 10 of their final 11 shots. South Carolina shot 42.4% and overcame a 3-of-12 layup performance in the first quarter to come away with the seven-point win.

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