Whenever LSU would score, South Carolina always answered, and its answers eventually gave it the upper hand.

South Carolina escaped with a 76-70 win over LSU after a fourth quarter surge.

The game was in LSU’s control up until midway through the third quarter, when the Gamecocks slowly and quietly closed in on the Tigers. South Carolina proved why it’s the No. 1 team in the country: It has the ability to stay in the game while facing adversity.

READ MORE: Dawn Staley credits LSU fans: “I’ve never seen as many people in the plaza’

The main matchup on the floor tonight was between Angel Reese and South Carolina’s 6-foot-7 center, Kamilla Cardoso. While Reese had her hands full, Aneesah Morrow stepped up with 10 first quarter points, including two 3-pointers. Morrow finished the game with a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Reese held Cardoso to a minimum in the first half. Reese finished the game with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal, but she fouled out with 4:02 left in the game. 

“When you don’t have Angel Reese on the floor, it takes you out of your rhythm, it takes you out of your confidence,” LSU head coach Kim Mulkey said.

Cardoso made just enough of an impact in the second half to allow her team a fighting chance. The senior center finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

PHOTOS: LSU women’s basketball falls 76-70 to South Carolina in the PMAC

With her presence, timely shooting and a cutdown on turnovers, South Carolina regained control of the game when it mattered most — the final minutes.

With Cardoso limited for the majority of the game, Chloe Kitts stepped up in the paint for the Gamecocks. She finished with a team-high 14 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the field.

Similar to how Cardoso’s production was just enough for South Carolina to get past LSU in the end, the Gamecocks’ guard play proved to be enough as well. 

The Gamecocks are fond of shooting the 3-point shot, and the Tigers limited them to just 7-of-20 shooting from behind the arc. However, the shots the Gamecocks were able to knock down from 3-point land were as timely as ever.

That was the difference maker. 

The Tigers and the Gamecocks traded crucial threes until LSU couldn’t land one, and South Carolina took control.

Bree Hall led South Carolina in the final minutes with her three ball. Two made 3-pointers with less than three minutes left in the game gave the Gamecocks the edge they needed. Hall finished with 10 points along with five rebounds, shooting 2-for-4 from three.

“It’s what she does every single day when she’s out on the court,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. “She puts in extra.”

Raven Johnson was also crucial in the final minutes of the game. With two made free throws and an and-one, where she also made the free throw, she helped South Carolina take and maintain the lead. She was also responsible for Reese’s fifth foul, taking LSU’s leader out of the game.

MiLayshia Fulwiley finished the game shooting 2-for-5 from behind the arc, and finished with eight points, Te-Hina Paopao added two 3-pointers, and finished with 12 points, and Kitts added a 3-pointer as well. 

As in games before, LSU’s defense was solid. For how fond South Carolina is of the three ball, the Tigers’ perimeter plays helped keep its shooting to a minimum for the majority of the game.

In the first half, LSU forced turnovers on defense that led to points on offense. The Tiger guards were also timely in the final minutes, but it wasn’t enough.

Mikaylah Williams knocked down a 3-pointer to give LSU the lead back with just under five minutes in the game, and Hailey Van Lith hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with under two minutes. 

Williams finished the game with 12 points, shooting 1-for-10 from three, along with six assists, and Van Lith scored 13 points, shooting 2-for-5 from three, along with three assists.

Aaliyah Del Rosario also had some shining moments off the bench. In a game with a 6-foot-7 center in Cardoso on the opposing team, Del Rosario, standing at 6-foot-6, was the only height LSU had to match up with her. She grabbed seven rebounds off the bench.

For LSU, in a game as prominent as Thursday night, it would have been nice to be on the winning side of it. If it had been, its outlook on the near future may look a little different.

“I’m not into moral victories, never have been,” Mulkey said. “We had opportunities to win this game, and we didn’t.”

But for right now, the Tigers are determined to put their head down and get to work. The players are determined, Mulkey is determined. The team isn’t where it wants to be yet, and it’s determined to fulfill its potential.

The game was exactly what it was expected to be. With ESPN College Gameday in attendance and over 13,000 fans at the PMAC, the matchup truly lived up to its hype.

“It makes you proud,” Mulkey said. “I’m forever grateful to the community, to LSU, we will just keep doing what we do.”

For both LSU and South Carolina, despite the result, it’s a game that both programs are glad to be a part of. Unfortunately, one team had to walk away with a loss.  

“It had all the dynamics of what you want every women’s basketball player to experience,” Staley said. “We’re going to talk about this for years. But I hope we don’t, because they’ll be replaced by others.”