LSU women’s basketball took to the court in Greenville, South Carolina, to face off against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament semifinals.
LSU has now fallen to the Gamecocks for the second time this season, after a loss on Valentine’s Day. LSU took the tournament loss 83-77 to South Carolina yet again.
South Carolina striking first, the Tigers were forced to play catch-up and forced to play quickly against a physically demanding South Carolina team that would not allow rebounds or any mistakes to fly.
Through the first quarter, with the demand that South Carolina brings, the Tigers were having trouble scoring threes from any angle attempted. Starting the game out with a smaller lineup, with girls like ZaKiyah Johnson, Jada Richard and Grace Knox on the court, there was a lot of holding off and guarding from these young players.
Taking charge once again, Milaysia Fulwiley led the team in scoring with 15 points, 2-for-2 at the free throw line and one turnover; and that was only in the first half.
Facing off against her former team once again, she was off to a much hotter start, with only six points in the earlier matchup, but by the time the game ended, she scored 24 points, going 10-for-21 from the field.
“She’s come alive, she’s playing free,” head coach Kim Mulkey said. “She’s playing with a lot of confidence, and it started after the Ole Miss game. She’s just got to play free.”
LSU is 26-1 when leading at the half so far this season, and that rang true once again.
With LSU leading by just four, which may not seem like a lot, but in a game this fast-paced and physical, it knew the game would come down to the final seconds.
But just as quickly as the Tigers took the lead, South Carolina claimed it back.
By the end of the third quarter, with such a back-and-forth drag, this game felt similar to the one in February, but this time the Tigers seemed to be on top of the game.
A late push would get the Tigers back within two at one point, but LSU didn’t have what it takes to come back and claim victory. But LSU’s trial of beating the Gamecocks for the first time in almost 20 years fell short again.
The problem that once presented itself in the first half was the ability to make threes. But LSU’s inability to clean it up during the second half became detrimental, with South Carolina outshooting the Tigers by 7-for-17 compared to 7-for-20 from behind the arc.
In the final minutes, the speed of the game caught up to the Tigers, and although there was a close scoreboard and a late push, South Carolina was just too much for LSU.
“There’s just a small margin of error to beat elite teams, we think we are an elite team but we’re not there to win those close games,” Mulkey said.
The Gamecocks drove it home in the final minute to move on to the finals of the SEC Tournament, and moved LSU’s record against South Carolina under Kim Mulkey to 0-7.
