NCAAW: S. Carolina makes case for No. 1 by beating undefeated LSU

Due to a winter storm, we had to wait a bit for this marquee matchup between the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks and the No. 5 LSU Tigers, but this game lived up to the hype.

South Carolina played a complete game and utilized their depth to eventually overwhelm LSU, prevailing 66-56.

Joyce Edwards led the way with 14 points off the bench, and Sania Feagin scored 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting to extend the Gamecocks’ home winning streak to 69 games. LSU’s trio of Aneesah Morrow, Mikaylah Williams and Flau’jae Johnson all played well, but it wasn’t enough to pull off the upset. Morrow, who had 15 points and a monster 16 rebounds, earned her 93rd-career double-double, giving her the second-most in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history.

The opening minutes were about as good as LSU could’ve hoped for. Morrow and Johnson got going early, and the Tigers opened up leading 14-9 with every starter scoring. South Carolina tried to settle things down, but LSU continued to dominate inside. For the game, the Tigers would outrebound the Gamecocks by 12.

LSU remained in the driver’s seat throughout much of the first quarter, but then Edwards made a pair of free throws, and after a Feagin jumper, the Tigers led by the slimmest of margins entering the second quarter. Whether you call it good defense or bad offense, both teams struggled to score during the rest of the first half. However, for LSU, their offense came to a screeching halt as they failed to score during the final 4:51 seconds of the second.

South Carolina took advantage, with Tessa Johnson knocking down a 3-pointer, which gave them back the lead. Chloe Kitts made one from the charity stripe, and the Gamecocks were up by one possession at the halftime stoppage.

Williams finally ended the scoring drought for LSU with a jumper at the 9:24 mark in the third. Unfortunately, they allowed South Carolina to go on another 8-0 run, and that all but ended this game. The Gamecocks’ performance was a team effort. Raven Johnson scored during this stretch, and Kitts continued to attack inside, draw fouls and do her best to keep South Carolina competitive on the glass.

With the Tigers trailing by double figures entering the fourth, it would have taken an impressive comeback to pull out a win. Both teams were evenly matched in the last 10 minutes, essentially exchanging points the rest of the way. South Carolina thus ended LSU’s undefeated streak, earning their best win of the year.

Key takeaways

LSU didn’t get enough offense to win this game. There were multiple long stretches where no scoring occurred. To defeat South Carolina, you have to play near-perfect basketball, and too many minutes amounted to nothing for the Tigers. The good news is that they were dominant inside, especially with their rebounding. If the LSU guards can step up and score a bit more efficiently in the future, perhaps they can finally get the better of their SEC rival.

South Carolina certainly looked like a poised championship team on Friday. They were challenged by LSU, but passed by finishing all quarters strong. In the first, they reduced the lead. In the second, they took control. And in the third, they ended the game.

South Carolina won’t have long to celebrate this victory. They play No. 17 Tennessee on Monday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2), while LSU will take on Texas A&M on Sunday, Jan. 26 (4 p.m. ET, SECN).