Basketball is full of emotions.
For South Carolina, its season looked to be done against Tennessee but center Kamilla Cardoso hit her first career three at the buzzer to send them to the championship.
As for LSU, it was an emotional game against Ole Miss as guard Last-Tear Poa went down with a scary head injury and needed a stretcher to get off the court.
Seeing the emotions on their face LSU used it as motivation to fight through adversity and advance to the next game. Both teams pulled through and met up again for the SEC Championship, where South Carolina pulled away with a 79-72 win.
However, those emotions spilled over late in the fourth quarter. After a foul by Flau’jae Johnson, Cardoso shoved her to the ground and a short melee ensued.
Both benches were ejected, Johnson was given an intentional foul and Cardoso was ejected due to her hit on Johnson. Cardoso won’t be able to play for the first game in the NCAA Tournament.
Just like the first matchup this game was filled with intensity and physicality. From trash talk to hard fouls, everyone knew this game was going to be a dogfight.
Aneesah Morrow got going early for the Tigers with 11 points, three rebounds and three steals in the first half and finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.
It was a back and fourth game in the first half but South Carolina started to get momentum later after going on a 12-0 run.
LSU had trouble taking care of the ball as they had too many careless turnovers. The Tigers finished with 13 turnovers in the first half. Angel Reese also got into foul trouble late in the second quarter and had to sit for the last four and a half minutes.
However, despite the turnovers and foul trouble from Reese, LSU was able to keep it close only trailing by four points at halftime.
South Carolina went cold from the field going almost five minutes without a made basket and LSU was able to get timely shots near the end of the second quarter.
During the second half, South Carolina started off hot as went on a 10-3 run. The Gamecocks led by as much as 11 points.
Milaysia Fulwiley couldn’t be stopped, scoring 10 points alone in the third quarter, and was able to extend their lead towards the end of the third quarter. Fulwiley finished the game with 24 points and went 4-for-5 from 3-point range.
The Tigers once again were able to weather the storm by getting to the free throw line and slowing the game down. LSU’s focal point was to continue to attack the paint. Though Cardoso’s height seemed to cause problems for the Tigers, they were able to get her in foul trouble and went back to attacking the inside.
LSU went on a 9-0 run of its own towards the end of the third quarter to get it within single digits.
It was crunch time for the Tigers as trailed by six heading into the fourth quarter. LSU went on another run getting it within one. Van Lith and Johnson were a big part of that run as they ended with 14 and 13 points.
LSU depth continued to be a problem, especially after the injury to Poa. The fatigue started to set in for the Tigers and simply couldn’t keep up with the depth of the Gamecocks.
What’s next
The Tigers finished the season 28-5 and will await their opponent next week during selection Sunday. LSU has been projected to be the 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host its first two games if given a top-four seed.
